Egyptian Press: Kerry Negotiated with Palestinians for an Anti-Israel Measure He Could Support
White House: No Meeting Occurred; Total Fabrication
Palestinians: Um Yeah There Was a Meeting. We Were There.

Israel papers are reporting that Egyptian president Sisi's mouthpiece newspaper reported that Kerry worked with the Palestinians on an anti-Israel condemnation the US could support:

Egyptian news website Al-Youm al-Saba'a, which is considered to be Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's mouth piece, published a supposed protocol on Tuesday of a meeting that was held in Washington on December 12 between US Secretary of State John Kerry and US National Security Advisor Susan Rice and a Palestinian delegation headed by senior Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) member Saeb Erekat. The protocol states that Kerry and Rice told the Palestinian delegation that the current US administration under President Barack Obama would be willing to cooperate with them in the UN Security Council given that the resolution would be a balanced one. The added that they have instructed US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power to be in contact with Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations Riyad Mansour. During the meeting, Kerry and Rice were reportedly both severely critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of wanting to destroy the possibility of a two-state solution. They also praised Erekat for predicting Netanyahu's policy trajectoy four years ago00namely, one of maintaining the status quo while making minor adjustments. Kerry said that he could present ideas for a possible permanent solution on the condition that the Palestinians would endorse them upon their publication. Furthermore, he apparently advised the Palestinians to send a representative to Riyadh in order to share the suggestions with the Saudis.

The article says Kerry also advised the Palestinians about how to work with (against) the incoming Trump administration.

The Obama Administration-- known for never lying, ever -- says this is untrue and a complete fabrication.

Ned Price, spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, denied the claims in an early-morning tweet. He called the reports a "fabrication" and said the "meeting never occurred."

The "meeting never occurred?" Here's the problem with that, Ned: You shouldn't deny a meeting which is advertised on the State Department website:

The State Department’s own website reflects that Kerry was scheduled for a meeting with Erekat at the State Department on Dec. 12, around the time of the reported discussions. The official website, however, offers no details on what was discussed.

Click on all the unreadably-small tweets packed into this tweet to see all the people who claim the meeting did occur. Including the Palestinians themselves:

More coming January 20th, it seems:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in response, called the address "skewed" and reiterated that his government has "absolutely incontestable evidence" that the U.S. organized and advanced the resolution.

Further, he referred to the details reported in Egyptian media as the "tip of the iceberg."

posted by Ace at 02:46 PM

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