British Prime Minister strongly criticized US Secretary of State John Kerry

(Baonghean.vn) - The British government has just criticized US Secretary of State John Kerry for his statements about the construction of Israeli settlements in the middle of the week.

In a sharp rebuke from a US official to its closest ally, Israel, Secretary of State John Kerry told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Tel Aviv was destroying hopes for a two-state solution to the country's decades-long conflict with the Palestinians.

Specifically, Mr. Kerry expressed disappointment that Mr. Netanyahu continued to support strategically placed settlements that made the two-state solution impossible. At the same time, the US Secretary of State also warned that this Israeli settlement policy would more or less threaten peace in the Middle East.

British Prime Minister has criticized US Secretary of State John Kerry after disagreements on Israel.

Shortly after Mr. John Kerry's speech, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May countered Mr. Kerry's views by saying that the British government believes that although building settlements in occupied territories of the Palestinians

"We do not believe that the appropriate way to negotiate peace is to focus on a single issue. Nor do we believe that attacking the democratic government of an ally is appropriate," the British Prime Minister's office said in a statement.

The US State Department immediately said Washington was "surprised" by the UK's reaction. According to the department's spokesman, Mr. Kerry's statement did not differ from the UK's long-standing policy on the Middle East issue.

"We were surprised by the Prime Minister's Office statement that Secretary Kerry was only referring to settlements, when we have given full consideration to the full range of threats to the two-state solution, including terrorism, violence, incitement and settlements. This is in line with the UK's position and the UN vote in general," a spokesman said.

According to experts, Secretary of State Kerry's speech continues to strain the relationship between the Israeli government and President Barack Obama's administration after Washington failed to block a UN resolution demanding Israel stop building settlements.

The UK is one of the countries that supported this resolution. Meanwhile, Mr. Donald Trump, the new US President, openly campaigned against this resolution and criticized Mr. Obama's handling of the relationship. This will somewhat affect the efforts of the two new leaders in the next term, despite Mrs. Theresa May's declaration that she wants to build a close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump.

Nhat Minh

(According to the Guardian)