The
Senate's top foreign relations Democrat joined the calls of
many Republicans
Tuesday by coming out in favor of tabling the U.S.-Israeli dispute over
Jerusalem housing construction.
John Kerry, the chairman
of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was slated to join a host of
lawmakers meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who's in town for AIPAC's annual conference. The Cable caught up to Kerry just before
his meeting, and the senior senator from Massachusetts said that he will tell
Netanyahu that both the United States and Israel should set the settlements
issue aside for now.
"I
think what's important now is not to get stuck on the issue of the settlement
freeze," Kerry told The Cable. "I
think what's important is to get to the table and discuss the final-status
talks as rapidly as possible."
Kerry
noted that calling for a full settlement freeze has been official U.S. policy
for years, under both Democratic and Republican administrations. But he said
that was just not the most important thing on the table at this point.
"I
think the focus ought to be on the talks themselves," he said. "The clock is
ticking and that ticking clock works against Israel's security and it works
against our interests in the region."
Kerry's
position might look practical considering that Netanyahu continues to reject the reported
demands
of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
that Israel reverse its decision to build 1,600 new settlements in disputed
East Jerusalem, despite their meeting for 75 minutes on Monday afternoon.
House
Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-VA,
issued a statement after his bipartisan meeting with Netanyahu saying that "building
in the Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem is not an impediment to the peace
process."
There
are signs that the administration is getting the message. For example, Clinton
only mentioned settlements once during her AIPAC speech, and other administration
officials have refrained from focusing on the issue in their public statements.
State Department
Spokesman P.J. Crowley said at
today's press conference that the future of Jerusalem is "a final-status issue," and he too emphasized the need to
shelve the settlements dispute in favor of getting to the negotiating table.
"The only way to ultimately resolve competing claims, on the
future of Jerusalem, is to get to direct negotiations," he said.
That led some in the press corps to ask Crowley if Clinton
had "lost" in her showdown with Netanyahu, but Crowley wouldn't concede that.
Kerry also
pushed back against the calls to move Iran sanctions legislation in Congress
before the administration is finished pursuing a new U.N. Security Council
resolution. That puts him directly in
conflict
with Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY,
among others.
"I think for Congress
to get out ahead at this moment would be complicated. I think we should proceed
in concert with the administration," said Kerry. "We can both send a message
and we can do it together in a powerful way. The point is to be effective, not
first."
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