Ouch! Garry Kasparov skewers John Kerry ahead of Middle East peace speech

Sarah D. | 7:59 PM on December 27, 2016

oh snap

— Who needs a handle (@JoeYossarian) December 28, 2016

In case you hadn’t already heard, the illustrious John Kerry is all set to deliver a speech on achieving peace in the Middle East:

John Kerry plans a speech that will offer a “comprehensive vision” for how Middle East peace can be achieved https://t.co/N3YO7lzTst pic.twitter.com/V3H0uXdghZ

— Bloomberg Politics (@bpolitics) December 27, 2016

Oh, this should be good:

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will offer a “comprehensive vision” for how Middle East peace can be achieved in a speech Wednesday in Washington, as Israel steps up its response to a censure from the United Nations over the construction of settlements in the West Bank.

…

The U.S. last week broke with tradition and decided not to veto a UN Security Council resolution condemning the West Bank settlements. Israel has already moved to limit ties with countries that voted for the resolution, rebuked member states’ representatives, recalled ambassadors from co-sponsors New Zealand and Senegal and pledged to cut off nearly $8 million in funding to UN institutions.

Kerry, describing himself as a “lifelong friend of Israel,” defended the U.S. decision to abstain on the vote in a Dec. 23 statement, warning that the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “is now in jeopardy, with terrorism, violence and incitement continuing and unprecedented steps to expand settlements being advanced by avowed opponents of the two state solution.”