British PM slams Kerry’s Middle East speech

Theresa May, British Prime Minister

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday criticised U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech on peace in the Middle East as an attack on the Israeli government.

Although Kerry’s speech was in line with British policy, May said it was an inappropriate attack on the Israeli government that focused too heavily on settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as a hurdle to achieving peace.

“We do not believe that it is appropriate to attack the composition of the democratically elected government of an ally,” the statement read from Downing Street.

“The government believes that negotiations will only succeed when they are conducted between the two parties, supported by the international community,” it said.

Kerry on Wednesday described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as “the most right-wing in Israeli history”.

Britain is one of 14 members’ states that voted in favour of a UN Security Council resolution last week condemning settlement activity.

The U.S. abstained, which allowed it to pass.

Netanyahu has said that he plans to work with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to repeal the resolution.

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