‘Deep Disappointment’: Netanyahu Slams Kerry’s ‘Unbalanced’ Speech on Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to John Kerry‘s Israel speech today by expressing his “deep disappointment.”

He called the speech “almost as unbalanced as the anti-Israel resolution passed at the UN last week” and said Kerry only had “throwaway lines” for “the unremitting campaign of terrorism that has been waged” against Israel for decades.

Netanyahu declared that Israelis don’t need to be “lectured” by foreign leaders about peace, even calling this speech and the resolution abstention “a radical shift in U.S. policy towards the Palestinians.”

He had some strong criticisms for the Obama administration––Netanyahu again affirmed that Israel has evidence the U.S. organized the U.N. resolution––and expressed that he’s looking forward to working with the incoming Trump administration.

The Israeli leader said he wants peace, but it comes down to one very fundamental issue:

“How can you make peace with someone who rejects your very existence?… This conflict is, and it has always been, about Israel’s very right to exist.”

And in addition to the criticisms of the current White House in the speech, this was posted to Netanyahu’s Facebook page before he spoke:

Watch above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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