Israel Matzav

Kerry wakes up, calls on Netanyahu to 'avoid further escalation'

With President Hussein Obama once again otherwise occupied, it has fallen to US Secretary of State John FN Kerry to deal with the current situation in Gaza. Kerry has leaped into action, doing exactly what you'd expect an Obama administration official to do: He has called on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to 'avoid further escalation.'

The United States is willing to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas on the basis of the November 2012 agreement that ended Operation Pillar of Defense, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stressed in a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday evening, according to a senior U.S. official.

The secretary condemned the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel, the official said, and stressed Israel's right to self-defense. At the same time, he asked Netanyahu to avoid further escalation.

"The secretary highlighted the American concern at escalating tension on the ground," the official said.

Kerry updated Netanyahu about his contacts with national leaders in the region, in an attempt to assist in halting the rocket fire from Gaza, preventing civilian casualties and restoring calm.

Kerry is due to meet with his French, German and British counterparts on Sunday evening to discuss the attempts to promote a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The meeting will take place in Vienna, where the ministers are attending nuclear talks with Iran.
On his arrival at the Palais Coburg in Vienna on Sunday, where the talks are taking place, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that achieving a cease-fire and avoiding a further escalation in Gaza are the issues at the top of France's agenda.

Silly me. I thought the top priority in Vienna was supposed to be reaching an agreement to at least limit Iran's nuclear capability. Or maybe since the P 5+1 talks are about to fail anyway, Kerry and the rest of the P 5+1 foreign ministers are looking for a distraction that will make everyone forget about that failure.

What could go wrong?

Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Gaza, Hamas, Hamas rockets, Iranian nuclear threat, John Kerry, Operation Protective Edge, P 5+1, Palestinian terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:20 PM