Kerry endorses Israeli violence against Palestinians

Secretary of State John Kerry touched down in Israel for the first time in over a year, amid a new rash of deadly attacks by Palestinians directed at Israeli civilians.

Mr Kerry said that he would consult Mr Netanyahu on ways “to push back against terrorism, to push back against senseless violence and to find a way forward to restore calm and begin to provide opportunities”.

Israeli security forces shot and killed the assailant, a Palestinian man, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said. But he made no mention of the possibility of reviving peace talks.

Another subtle word change occurred at Kerry’s meeting Tuesday with Reuven Rivlin, Israel’s president, who serves a largely ceremonial role. “We are committed to that, two states with two peoples living side by side in peace and security, and President Obama and the United States will continue to work as hard as possible to achieve that end”, Kerry added.

The violence erupted in mid-September over tensions surrounding a sensitive Jerusalem holy site and quickly spread across Israel and into the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Over the past two months, at least 89 Palestinians have been killed in unrest as well as 19 Israelis and an American student. Netanyahu on Monday announced stricter controls on Palestinian vehicles and an increase in so-called “bypass roads”, which create separate routes for Palestinians and Israeli settlers.

In May, Israeli-based Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights issued a database documenting more than 50 discriminatory laws directly or indirectly target Palestinian citizens of Israel by quelling their political expression and limiting their access to state resources, notably land.

Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian youth during protests in the West Bank.

The larger vision of a two-state solution has been the centerpiece of American foreign policy in the Middle East for decades. John Kerry arrived in Israel today in part to discuss strategies of decreasing the tensions and levels of violence that have spiked between Israel and the Palestinians over the last couple of months. The Palestinians say it is the result of almost half a century of Israeli occupation and frustration over repeated failures in peace efforts.

Palestinian officials said Mr Shalaldeh’s 27-year-old cousin, Abdallah Azzam Shalaldeh, was shot and killed in Azzam Shalaldeh’s hospital room.

There is no settlement freeze, nor will there be one, Netanyahu continued, according to the senior official.

Hebron, the largest West Bank city, has been a particular flashpoint. However, because Kerry’s words effectively give Netanyahu a blank cheque to enact state violence against Palestinians under the rubric of “terror”, we can not expect real progress towards ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to emerge from Kerry’s visit, much less any other type of USA intervention.