In John Kerry’s forthcoming book, he makes serious accusations regarding the Israeli prime minister, in addition to shedding light on Obama’s anti-Israel turn in the UN.
By: World Israel News Staff
In his new book, “Every Day is Extra,” former US Secretary of State John Kerry makes a number of startling revelations, including serious accusations related to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A copy of the book, which has yet to be released, was obtained by Jewish Insider, which published synopses of key passages and quotes.
In detailing his attempt to facilitate a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terror group during 2014’s Protective Edge, Kerry accuses Netanyahu of leaking confidential details to the media.
“We were in the middle of negotiating it based on [Netanyahu’s] input. Now I see it in the press? This is outrageous,” Kerry claims he told Bibi on a phone call.
“The humanitarian cease-fire was your idea. And now you leak this document to make it sound like I am trying to advance Hamas’s position?” Kerry maintains he told Netanyahu, adding that an “element of personal trust had been lost.”
Kerry also paints Netanyahu as a straight-talking pragmatist who viewed Israel’s neighbors with distrust, relaying a conversation following Obama’s speech to the Israeli public in 2013.
“A few days later, I met with Bibi at the King David Hotel. He looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘John, I’m willing to give this effort a try, but there are two things you should know: first, everyone in this region lies all the time and you Americans have a hard time understanding that; second, the most I can do may be less than the least Abbas could ever accept.’ That statement really stayed with me. Bibi was raising the bar, perhaps impossibly,” Kerry explains.
In addition to these passages, Kerry also touches on an episode that many view as the Obama’s administration’s decision to turn its back on Israel at the United Nations.
In discussing that decision, Kerry takes issue with Donald Trump’s appointment David Friedman to serve as US Ambassador to Israel, whom he describes as “a hard-core proponent of the settlements and an avowed opponent of the two-state solution.” He adds that after “the Israelis had shown themselves to be completely disdainful of our policy by starting a process of formally legalizing outposts,” the Obama administration “could not defend in the UN Israeli actions that amounted to a massive and unprecedented acceleration of the settlement enterprise.”
Among the other topics Kerry touches on include Netanyahu’s 2015 speech to Congress, the release of Jonathan Pollard, and the Iran nuclear deal.