text: Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday it's now "pretty clear" that separatists were responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in Ukraine and most likely received help from Russian forces. 
   
   "It's pretty clear that this is a system that was transferred from Russia into the hands of separatists," Kerry said on CNN's "State of the Union." "We know with confidence, with confidence, that the Ukrainians did not have such a system anywhere near the vicinity at that point and time so it obviously points a very clear finger t the separatists." 
   
   On Thursday, Malaysian airliner was likely shot down over Eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people and sparking international controversy. After days of investigations, Kerry reported new intelligence on Sunday. 
   
   Kerry said he knows "for certain" that within the last month a convoy of armored personnel carriers, rocket launchers, tanks and artillery crossed over the Russian border into Eastern Ukraine and was turned over to separatists. He also described separatists receiving training from Russians and evidence that shows the particular system used to shoot down the plane passing through two towns in the vicinity of where the missile was launched within hours of the tragedy. Other instances, such as separatists tampering with evidence and stealing pieces of the plane, also point towards the group's involvement. 
   
   "Now we have a video showing a launcher moving back through a particular area out into Russia with at least one missing missile on it, so we have enormous input about this, which points fingers," Kerry said. 
   
   Read more about: Ukraine Plane Crash ||||| Secretary of State John Kerry struck an optimistic tone on Sunday, saying the United States was hopeful that the showdown between Israel and Hamas in Gaza would end in a cease fire soon. 
   
   “We're hopeful, very hopeful, that we could quickly to try to find a way forward to put a cease fire in place so that the underlying issues, so that we can get to the questions. But you cannot reward terrorism. There can't be a set of preconditioned demands that are going to be met,” Kerry said on NBC’S “Meet the Press.” 
   
   “We support the Egyptian initiative, joined in by Israel and others, to have an immediate cease fire. And we're working that cease fire very, very hard. I have been in touch all yesterday, day before, many days now, with my counterparts. The president has been in touch with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu I think day before yesterday. They will talk again today," Kerry said. "I talked to Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday. And I believe the president wants me to go very, very shortly to the region in order to try to see if we can get a cease fire in place." 
   
   Kerry also defended Israel’s right to defend itself. 
   
   “This is a very, very difficult moment, also, and a very difficult situation. Israel has been under attack by rockets," he said. "I don't think any nation in the world would sit there while rockets are bombarding it." 
   
   Read more about: John Kerry, Israel ||||| Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday the investigation into the crash and likely shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 has already been “seriously compromised.” 
   
   “On Friday, the monitors and the people trying to get in there to secure the site were given 75 minutes. Yesterday, they were given three hours,” Kerry said on “Fox News Sunday.” 
   
   Kerry went on to describe “drunken separatist soldiers” taking bodies from the crash site and airline parts being removed from the area. 
   
   “Anything that has been removed compromises the investigation,” Kerry said. 
   
   “We need full access” to the site, Kerry said. “This is a moment of truth for Russia.” 
   
   The Kuala Lumpur-bound flight was apparently shot down over separatist-controlled Ukraine on Thursday. 
   
   Read more about: John Kerry, Ukraine Plane Crash ||||| Secretary of State John Kerry was caught on an open mic just before his interview with “Fox News Sunday” candidly speaking about the conflict in Gaza. 
   
   “It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation, it’s a hell of a pinpoint operation,” Kerry said to an aide on the phone, with some measure of frustration. 
   
   His comments seemed to be criticizing the Israeli government’s assurances about the limited scope of its attack and ground invasion of Gaza. 
   
   Kerry, speaking by phone to one of his top aides, then added: “We’ve got to get over there. Thank you John. I think John, we ought to go tonight. I think it’s crazy to be sitting around.” 
   
   (Also on POLITICO: Kerry asserts American authority) 
   
   
   
   Kerry was confronted on air by host Chris Wallace, who asked if Kerry was implying that the Israeli government had gone too far in its Gaza operations. 
   
   “While you were on camera and while you were on microphone, you just talked to one of your top aides about the situation in Israel and the fact that 14 Israelis have apparently been shot and killed in an operation,” Wallace said. 
   
   Kerry stood by his comments, while defending Israel’s right to defend itself. 
   
   (Also on POLITICO: Kerry: Crash investigation has been compromised) 
   
   “It’s tough to have these kind of operations. I reacted, obviously, in a way that anybody does with respect to young children and civilians,” Kerry said, 
   
   “War is tough. I’ve said that publicly and I've said it again. We defend Israeli’s right to do what it is doing,” Kerry said. 
   
   “We support Israel’s right to defend itself against rockets that are continuing to come in. Hamas has started its process of rocketing after Israel was trying to find the people who killed three young [people] — one American kid, three young Israelis,” Kerry said. 
   
   Read more about: John Kerry, Israel, Chris Wallace, Gaza, Middle East
target: – John Kerry is off and running on the media blitz known as appearing on all five Sunday talk shows, and—with developments breaking this morning from Israel to the Malaysia Airlines plane crash—he has no shortage of things to discuss. Highlights, as per Politico: On the crash site: "It's been seriously compromised. On Friday, the monitors and the people trying to get in there to secure the site were given 75 minutes. Yesterday, they were given three hours. Drunken soldiers are piling bodies into trucks unceremoniously and disturbing the evidence. Anything that has been removed compromises the investigation. We need full access. This is a moment of truth for Russia." Further, "What's happening is really grotesque." On the Ukraine rebels involvement in the crash: "It's pretty clear that this is a system that was transferred from Russia into the hands of separatists. We know with confidence, with confidence, that the Ukrainians did not have such a system anywhere near the vicinity at that point and time so it obviously points a very clear finger to the separatists." His hot mic moment: While talking to an aide ahead of his appearance on Fox News Sunday, Kerry was caught discussing Israel. "It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation, it’s a hell of a pinpoint operation," he said. "We’ve got to get over there. Thank you John. I think John, we ought to go tonight. I think it’s crazy to be sitting around." On a ceasefire in Gaza: "We're hopeful, very hopeful, that we could quickly to try to find a way forward to put a cease fire in place so that the underlying issues, so that we can get to the questions. But you cannot reward terrorism. There can't be a set of preconditioned demands that are going to be met."