New slam from U.S. stirs Israeli backlash

NOT!” the President-elect tweeted Wednesday morning.

Trump followed up by promising a dramatic shift in U.S.-Israel relations when he becomes President next month.

“We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the U.S., but . . . not anymore. The beginning of the end was the horrible Iran deal, and now this (U.N.)! Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!” he tweeted. WASHINGTON — With 22 days left before President Obama leaves the White House, Secretary of State Kerry on Wednesday sharply escalated criticism of Israeli settlement policy as a primary obstacle to peace in the Middle East.

Kerry’s parting shots at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu included the claim that continued housing construction in disputed territory would rule out a two-state peace agreement with the Palestinians and fundamentally change the Jewish state’s character.

“If the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or democratic. It cannot be both,” Kerry said.

The speech drew a furious response from Netanyahu, who accused Kerry of being “skewed against Israel.”

“Israelis do not need to be lectured about the importance of peace by foreign leaders. Israel’s hand has been extended in peace to its neighbors from day one,” Netanyahu said in brief remarks, adding that Kerry “obsessively dealt with settlements” while ignoring deeper obstacles to peace.

Kerry’s speech came after Netanyahu and President-elect Donald Trump had slammed the Obama administration’s recent move that enabled the United Nations to condemn Israel’s construction of settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

The policies Kerry outlined Wednesday — support for a two-state solution and opposition to new Israeli settlements — are decades-old U.S. policy. But his tone marked a dramatic departure from the usually supportive stance of U.S. politicians toward Israel, a sign of how much the facts on the ground have changed and how much an incoming Trump administration could alter U.S. policy toward the region.

“Despite our best efforts over the years, the two-state solution is now in serious jeopardy. The truth is that trends on the ground — violence, terrorism, incitement, settlement expansion and the seemingly endless occupation — they are combining to destroy hopes for peace on both sides and increasingly cementing an irreversible one-state reality that most people do not actually want,” Kerry warned.

On Wednesday, Netanyahu repeated claims that the U.S. “organized, advanced and brought” the UN resolution condemning Israeli settlements.

Kerry acknowledged that the U.S. played a role in negotiating the resolution — but disputed that the U.S. had been the “driving force” behind the efforts.

“During the time of the process, we made clear to others, including those that were on the Security Council, that it was possible that if the resolution were to be balanced and include references to terrorism, that it was possible that the United States would then not block it, if it was balanced and fair,” he said in the Wednesday speech.

“In the end, we did not agree with every word in this resolution . . . . But we could not in good conscience veto a resolution that condemns violence and reiterates what has been for a long time the overwhelming consensus and international view on settlements.”

The secretary of state conceded that the outgoing administration could do little to change Israel’s policies. But Kerry said the White House refuses to stand idly by and support moves that he and Obama think hurt any chances at future peace and that damage Israel’s long-term security.

Recent years have seen deteriorating relations between Obama and Netanyahu, who have made no secret of their mutual dislike even as the White House stepped up with massive military aid for Israel. Netanyahu publicly railed against last year’s U.S.-Iran nuclear deal and went around Obama to speak directly to Congress at the request of GOP congressional leaders.

In his speech, Kerry didn’t shy away from criticizing Netanyahu.

“We have to be clear about what is happening in the West Bank. The Israeli prime minister publicly supports a two-state solution, but his current coalition is the most right-wing in Israeli history with an agenda driven by the