John Kerry defends against Israeli criticism

World Today

Secretary Kerry Meets With Ukrainian Foreign Minister At The State DepartmentU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry answers questions about Israel’s invasion of Gaza and the current situation in Ukraine following a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin at the State Department July 29, 2014 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP)

Top U.S. diplomat John Kerry is defending himself from Israeli criticism. CCTV-America’s Jessica Stone reports from the White House.

John Kerry defends against Israeli criticism

Top U.S. diplomat John Kerry is defending himself from Israeli criticism. CCTV-America's Jessica Stone reports from the White House.

Follow Jessica Stone on Twitter @JessicaStoneTV

Secretary of State John Kerry went out of his way to acknowledge Israel’s right to self defense, validating Israel’s concerns about rocket attacks and tunnel attacks. Kerry said he was taking them into account in negotiating a cease-fire that would allow them to continue to route out these tunnels into Israel.

Kerry also dug in on his approach to stopping the violence: Cease-fire first, talks in Cairo second.

“I’m not going to worry about personal attacks. I think President Obama has it right and the international community has it right when we say it’s more appropriate to try and resolve the underlying issues at a negotiating table than to continue a tit-for-tat of violence that will invite more violence and perhaps a greater downward spiral, which would be much more difficult to recover from.” – Secretary of State John Kerry

A Fatah spokesperson in Egypt said Cairo is expecting a Palestinian delegation in the next two days. They too will follow the same approach the U.S. supports.