Showing posts with label US-Israeli relations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US-Israeli relations. Show all posts
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Saturday, November 12, 2016
What Will a Trump Presidency Mean for US-Israel Relations?
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Binyamin Netanyahu 'Chickenshit', Say US Officials in Explosive Interview
US relations with Israel have plunged to new depths of bitterness and hostility as senior officials in the Obama administration decried Binyamin Netanyahu as a “chickenshit prime minister”, “coward” and a man more interested in his own political survival than peace.
The furious assessment delivered in anonymous but no-holds barred comments in an interview with the American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg in the Atlantic underline a state of anger with Netanyahu that is characterised as “red hot”.
The remarks are particularly telling in having been made to Goldberg, a Washington insider who has interviewed both Obama and Netanyahu, and who warned US-Israeli relations were in a “full-blown crisis” that could only get worse after the midterm elections.
Speaking to the Israeli parliament – the Knesset – a few hours after the comments were revealed, Netanyahu angrily insisted he was “under attack simply for defending Israel”, adding that he “cherished” Israel’s relationship with the US. » | Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem | Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
LE FIGARO: Malgré leurs divergences, le président américain a reçu mardi le premier ministre israélien dans un climat d'apaisement.
Mardi, les photographes ont été conviés à la Maison-Blanche pour fixer sur la pellicule l'apaisement de la relation américano-israélienne. Barack Obama accueillait le premier ministre Benyamin Nétanyahou avec la volonté affichée de tourner la page d'une période de tensions inhabituelles entre Washington et l'État hébreu. Le programme tranchait avec l'accueil glacial réservé au dirigeant israélien en mars, sans photo ni point de presse commun, en réaction à la poursuite de la colonisation dans les Territoires occupés.
Rien de tel, mardi. Les deux hommes se sont retrouvés vers 11 heures, avant de s'adresser aux journalistes et d'aller déjeuner ensemble. Même s'il paraissait tendu et peinait à sourire, le président américain a souligné «l'amitié extraordinaire» qui unit ces «deux démocraties». La coopération a beaucoup progressé sur le plan économique et militaire même si la presse ne l'écrit pas, a-t-il dit, précisant que sa discussion de fond avec Israël avait un seul but : assurer une paix durable. Le premier ministre israélien, un peu contraint lui aussi, a confirmé d'«excellentes discussions» : « Tout ne se voit pas», a-t-il dit à destination des journalistes. >>> Par Laure Mandeville | Mercredi 06 Juillet 2010
WELT ONLINE: Obama und Netanjahu demonstrieren Einigkeit: Israels Premier Netanjahu und US-Präsident Obama lassen Verstimmungen hinter sich. Beide fordern direkte Gespräche mit Palästinensern. >>> Von Clemens Wergin | Dienstag, 06. Juli 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
YNET NEWS: Latest crisis an opportunity to tell America we’re allowed to disagree
Let’s all take a deep breath. All of us. Now that the latest meeting between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ended, we would do well to accept the not-so-bitter truth: At this time there are disagreements between the United States and Israel.
Two new governments on both sides do not see eye to eye on diplomatic realities and have different attitudes to Jerusalem. We could have caved in, or tried to blur the gaps, yet this would be a missed opportunity. It is better to reconcile ourselves to this diplomatic reality and recognize it. This is the situation, dear citizens: Israel thinks differently than America.
Instead of getting scared of this fragile situation, we need to speak out boldly: On the other side, there are quite a few people who fail to understand the limits of power.
It doesn’t matter what they tell you about what’s really happening between the White House and Israel, one thing is clear: The notion someone planted in Obama’s head, whereby Netanyahu will make statements that contradict his beliefs and his voters’ worldview, and that would shatter his coalition and split the Likud – this notion is foolish and unreasonable.
Indeed, this notion casts doubt on President Obama’s ability to conduct himself vis-à-vis Israel the way one should conduct himself vis-à-vis an ally. >>> Hanoch Daum | Sunday, March 28, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Hillary Clinton has warned Israel that it was creating a gulf in its relationship with the United States, escalating a row over plans to expand a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.
Delivering an unexpectedly robust address to America's most powerful pro-Israel lobby, the US secretary of state sent a strong signal that the Obama administration would not back down in its two-week stand-off with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.
Speaking as Mr Netanyahu arrived in Washington for high-level talks, Mrs Clinton cautioned that Israel's refusal to halt construction in the territories it occupied after the 1967 Six-Day [War] was emboldening its enemies.
She also hinted for the first time that the United States could reduce its role in the Middle East peace process if Mr Netanyahu did not bow to demands that he reverse a controversial housing project in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem.
"New construction in East Jerusalem or the West Bank undermines mutual trust," she told members of the AIPAC lobby group.
"It exposes daylight between Israel and the United States that others in the region hope to exploit. And it undermines America's unique ability to play a role – an essential role, I might add – in the peace process."
Mrs Clinton's implicit rebuke sets the stage for an intriguing encounter between President Barack Obama and Mr Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday evening. >>> Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem and Rob Crilly | Monday, March 22, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
THE WASHINGTON POST: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday about the state of the U.S.-Israeli relationship, demanding that Israel take immediate steps to show it is interested in renewing efforts to achieve a Middle East peace agreement.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley described the nearly 45-minute phone conversation in unusually undiplomatic terms, signaling that the close allies are facing their deepest crisis in two decades after the embarrassment suffered by Vice President Biden this week when Israel announced during his visit that it plans to build 1,600 housing units in a disputed area of Jerusalem.
Clinton called Netanyahu "to make clear the United States considered the announcement a deeply negative signal about Israel's approach to the bilateral relationship and counter to the spirit of the vice president's trip," Crowley said. Clinton, he said, emphasized that "this action had undermined trust and confidence in the peace process and in America's interests."
From the start of his tenure, President Obama identified a Middle East peace deal as critical to U.S. national security, but his efforts have been hampered by the administration's missteps and the deep mistrust between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Last fall, he softened his demand for a full freeze on settlement construction, accepting a limited 10-month moratorium that did not include the East Jerusalem area where the construction announced this week is to take place. Clinton at the time hailed the Israeli plan as "unprecedented."
Special envoy George J. Mitchell has struggled to relaunch peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Last week, he got the two sides to agree to indirect talks, with Mitchell shuttling between them, but the Israeli announcement has imperiled that development. Rising Palestinian anger led Israeli forces on Friday to seal off the West Bank and post riot squads around Jerusalem's Old City and Arab neighborhoods.
U.S. officials were especially furious about the announcement because they thought they had reached a private understanding with Netanyahu that even though East Jerusalem was not officially included in the moratorium, he would prevent any provocative actions there. Its release during Biden's trip, intended as a fence-mending mission, was seen as another slap.
"The announcement of the settlements on the very day that the vice president was there was insulting," Clinton told CNN on Friday.
Obama had approved Clinton's call, sitting down with her during their weekly meeting Thursday to determine the language she would use. "The secretary and the president worked through together the specific points she would be making to Prime Minister Netanyahu," deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said. Biden also called Netanyahu on Friday to reinforce the message, officials said, and Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren was summoned to a meeting with Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg.
Some analysts applauded the administration's tough stance, saying it may jar the right-leaning Israeli government into making gestures to the Palestinians. But others said Clinton's call risked emboldening Arab and Palestinian officials to make new demands before talks start, if only so as not to seem softer than the Americans. >>> Glenn Kessler, Washington Post Staff Writer | Saturday, March 13, 2010
Thursday, November 19, 2009
YNET NEWS – OPINION: US accepts Arab terminology in respect to Jerusalem neighborhoods
US Special Envoy Mitchell’s demand that the Israeli government refrain from building in Jerusalem’s Gilo neighborhood is merely the prelude to a process meant to erode the legitimate status of Israel’s Jerusalem neighborhoods.
These neighborhoods (including Gilo, Ramot Alon, French Hill, and Neve Yaakov) were built after the Six-Day War within the jurisdiction of Israel’s capital; now, they are finally being granted American recognition of their traditional Palestinian name: Settlements.
A direct link exists between Obama’s speech in Cairo and the American decision that Gilo and French Hill are just the same as the settlements of Ofra and Elon Moreh. We can therefore conclude that the US Administration has started to speak Arabic. Salam Aleikum, America! >>> Moshe Elad | Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
YNET NEWS: Israel should reevaluate policy of heavy dependence on America
Barack Obama's demand that Israel freeze all settlement activity in Judea and Samaria, including east Jerusalem, created a rift between Washington and Jerusalem. Similar rifts existed in the past. Such temporary rifts do not undermine the close relationship between the two countries. They do, however, raise questions about its nature. Given that both countries' interests are not always aligned, Israel should reevaluate its policy of depending so heavily on American support.
Similar issues are being debated in Washington, albeit from a different perspective. In think tanks and op-eds, on college campuses, and even within Obama's administration, many ask whether the current state of affairs best serves the American interest. Some argue that hostility towards the United States among Muslims results, at least partially, from America's support for Israel, and that scaling back aid to Israel will reduce that hostility. Others openly question whether the pro-Israel lobby is a positive factor in shaping American policy. Others still argue that the US must actively and aggressively pursue a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order to improve its standing in the region. President Obama seems to be a member of the latter group.
In Jerusalem, on the other hand, the debate focuses on issues of less strategic importance. Should Netanyahu accept Obama's demand or reject it? Should Israel insist on natural growth? What about Jerusalem? Is there a creative formula that would please everyone? Such are the questions the media raise. Even those who say Netanyahu should oppose Obama's demand do not suggest a reevaluation of Israel's relationship with the United States.
It is easy to understand why. America's support is one of the most valuable strategic assets Israel has. The US gives it military and economic aid; it provides diplomatic support at the United Nations, often blocking resolutions that would jeopardize Israel’s interests; and it is an important trade partner. Furthermore, Israel shares many common values with the US. Israelis tend to view themselves as Westerners, so it is only natural for them to seek the support of the largest Western power. >>> Yarden Gazit | Sunday, July 26, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
BRISBANE TIMES: CAN Israel still call the United States its best friend? Not if you believe the media in Israel.
The increasingly tense dialogue between the US President, Barack Obama, and the new Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has taken on all the trappings of a duel here.
Almost every day brings news of another sore point, blighting the once warm relationship between the two countries.
Anyone could be forgiven for thinking the most immediate threat to national security in Israel lay across the Atlantic. That Mr Obama uses almost every opportunity he gets to set the parameters of a final peace agreement between Israel and Palestine is bad enough.
But now officials in his administration are openly using Israeli anxiety at Iran's nuclear program as a bargaining chip to force its hand on giving up control of the West Bank Palestinian territory.
No less a figure than the White House chief-of-staff, Rahm Emanuel, was quoted this week laying down the law: if Israel wants US help to defuse the Iranian threat, then get ready to start evacuating settlements in the West Bank, he was reported to have told Jewish leaders in Washington. >>> Jason Koutsoukis Herald Correspondent in Jerusalem | Saturday, April 18, 2009
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