“Maybe this is the natural extension of what has been a very dysfunctional relationship. My worry, though, is that this, in the end, may have the very opposite effect that Obama and Kerry hope,” Murphy (D-Conn.) said of the U.S. abstention at the Security Council and Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech Wednesday defending the move. “It may be pushing Donald Trump further and further into Netanyahu’s camp such that he’s not going to be able to be an honest broker between the Israelis and the Palestinians. So in the long run, this may actually be counterproductive to the sort of goals and precepts of Kerry’s speech yesterday.”
Speaking to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” the Senate Foreign Relations Committee member said the U.N. is “just fundamentally not a fair forum for the Israelis” and that the White House should have vetoed the Security Council measure condemning America’s closest ally in the Middle East. It should be no surprise that the U.S. would object to Israeli settlement activity as it has in the past, Murphy said, but he added that there are other forums where such complaints could have been voiced.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member