In a final bid to secure peace in the Middle East before the Obama administration comes to a close, US Secretary of State John Kerry has outlined his vision for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying that both sides must work together to ensure peace.<br /><br /> Speaking in Washington just days after the US abstained from voting on a United Nations resolution which demanded an end to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Kerry said Israel and the Palestinian territories must be “serious” about implementing the two-state solution.<br /><br /> “If we’re serious about the two-state solution, it’s time to start implementing it now, and advance the process of separation,” he said.<br /><br /> “It could make a significant difference in saving the two-state solution and in building confidence in the citizens of both sides.”<br /><br /> He said that settlements have nothing to do with Israeli security but instead make the task of protecting Israelis much more difficult.<br /><br /> Such settlements, he said, pose a threat to the two-state solution.<br /><br /> He said the US must “provide for a just, agreed, fair and realistic solution… for a comprehensive resolution consistent with 2 states for 2 peoples”.<br /><br /> The US is one of Israel’s most prominent allies, but Kerry said there that the country’s decision not to veto the UN resolution is in accordance with US values.<br /><br /> Kerry’s statement comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government pulled back from approving hundreds of new homes for Israelis in East Jerusalem.<br /><br /> The contentious resolution was condemned by Israel, who have gradually legalised more and more Jewish settlements in occupied Jerusalem over recent years.<br /><br /> A spokesman for Netanyahu, whose relationship with the US administration has struggled since Obama’s election in 2008, claimed to have “ironclad evidence” that the White House plotted to promote the resolution. <br /><br /> Netanyahu has accused Washington of conspiring against the Israeli government.<br />
