Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog has presented Secretary of State John Kerry with a plan for an Israeli pullout from the West Bank.
“Israels are killed in the streets and the world advances surreal initiatives and boycotts,” Herzog said in a Feb. 3 statement. “Disengagement is the only path to advance a two-state solution.”
Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005 under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Herzog, who heads the center-left Zionist Union, met with Kerry in Rome, their fourth meeting in six months, the Times of Israel reported.
“Stop with the big words,” Herzog told Kerry, according to the Jerusalem Post. “Our citizens are being murdered and we must engage in the separation process that will serve as the basis for the reality of the two-state solution vision, which I firmly believe is the only solution to the conflict.”
Kerry’s office did not release a statement on the meeting, but Herzog’s statement said Kerry expressed interest in the proposal; details of the plan were not released to the public.
The United States has largely shelved its attempt to broker a two-state solution since talks broke down in 2014. — jta