British PM Theresa May criticises John Kerry’s condemnation of Israel in rare split
The stark difference of opinion highlights the rapidly shrinking influence of Barack Obama during a lame duck season
British Prime Minister Theresa May condemned a blunt speech this week by Secretary of State John Kerry on the state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an unusual move that boosted Britain’s relations with the incoming Trump administration at the expense of President Barack Obama.
The rare diplomatic spat between Britain and the United States, which was met with surprise by the State Department, highlighted the fast-collapsing influence of the lame-duck White House. It also pointed to a vast reordering of international affairs expected after Trump takes office in three weeks, as US allies position themselves to curry favor in the new order.
We do not believe that it is appropriate to attack the composition of the democratically elected government of an ally
The transatlantic split was particularly unexpected given that May’s government acted as a key broker between US and Palestinian interests ahead of a UN Security Council vote last week to declare Israeli settlement construction “illegal”. British diplomats worked as go-betweens in shaping the measure to ensure that the language was acceptable to the United States, Britain’s The Guardian and Israel’s Haaretz newspapers reported this week.
May’s office retorted that “we do not believe that it is appropriate to attack the composition of the democratically elected government of an ally”. It said in an emailed statement late on Thursday that “we are also clear that the settlements are far from the only problem in this conflict. In particular, the people of Israel deserve to live free from the threat of terrorism, with which they have had to cope for too long”.
The move was an olive branch both to Netanyahu and to US president-elect Donald Trump, who railed against the Obama administration’s decision to abstain from a UN Security Council resolution condemning the settlements and who has urged Israel to “stay strong” until he assumes office January 20. Trump has expressed near-unconditional support for actions by the Israeli government, breaking with long-standing US policy that has sought a middle ground between the two sides.