U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made some frank remarks during a closed door meeting on Friday, reports AFP.
In a meeting with the Trilateral Commission, Kerry said Israel risked becoming an “apartheid” state if it does not make peace with the Palestinian population soon.
“A two-state solution will be clearly underscored as the only real alternative because a unitary state winds up either being an apartheid state with second class citizens – or it ends up being a state that destroys the capacity of Israel to be a Jewish state,” Kerry said during the meeting.
“Once you put that frame in your mind, the reality, which is the bottom line, you understand how imperative it is to get to the two state solution which both leaders, even (Thursday), said they remain deeply committed to,” Kerry stated, according to AFP.
The term “apartheid” refers to South Africa’s oppressive segregated social system from 1948-1994. President Barack Obama and John Kerry have avoided using the term when speaking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because it is seen as inflammatory and controversial.
