Israeli minister: Give Kerry the Nobel Prize to leave us alone

Israeli minister: Give Kerry the Nobel Prize to leave us alone
Tue Jan 14, 2014 17:16:56

Israel's war minister Moshe Yaalon has criticized recent US moves regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict saying that the only thing that can save them from US Secretary of State John Kerry’s "messianic feeling" and “obsession” is to give him a Nobel Peace Prize so that he leaves.

"Secretary of State John Kerry - who has come to us determined and is acting out of an incomprehensible obsession and a messianic feeling - cannot teach me a single thing about the conflict with the Palestinians," Yaalon was quoted as saying by Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's biggest-selling newspaper.

"The only thing that can save us is if Kerry wins the Nobel prize and leaves us alone."

The report appeared hours after US Vice President Joe Biden left the occupied territories, where he had attended the funeral of infamous former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon.

Yedioth’s report said Yaalon had voiced his criticism of Kerry in private conversations before one of the Secretary's recent mediation visits to the region, but it gave no specific date.

Kerry has been on a diplomatic blitz in recent weeks to persuade Israel move on with peace efforts which have remained fruitless mainly because of Israel’s illegal expansion plans.

Some 350,000 Jewish settlers live in West Bank settlements, in addition to another 200,000 Israelis settled in occupied and annexed east al-Quds.

The international community considers the colonization of occupied land to be illegal, and the Palestinians have long viewed settlement construction as a key obstacle to reaching a peace agreement.

SHI/SHI

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