An Israeli minister said Secretary of State John Kerry was wrong for pressuring Israel in peace talks, reports the AFP.
“John Kerry is wrong because he is putting pressure on the wrong side,” Environmental Minister Gilad Erdan said Sunday.
“Kerry should be asking Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) why he is stubbornly refusing to recognize Israel as the Jewish state,” he added while speaking on public radio.
Kerry recently criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for insisting that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state as a precondition for the peace talks.
This demand threatens to derail the peace process, as Palestinians have repeatedly rejected it.
Kerry said he believed it was a mistake to raise the issue over and over again.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is set to visit the White House on Monday.
