Netanyahu: "What the hell do they want from me?"
There's very good news on the Israeli/Palestinian front with Obama apparently very serious about ending the settlement building and Netanyahu in a total flummox that there aren't the usual "understandings" between the Israelis and the Americans on this subject; i.e., Israel talks peace but simply keeps expanding the settlements.
It would appear that Washington is extremely serious about this. I am very impressed.Referring to Clinton's call for a settlement freeze, Netanyahu groused, "What the hell do they want from me?" according to his associate, who added, "I gathered that he heard some bad vibes in his meetings with [U.S.] congressional delegations this week."
In the 10 days since Netanyahu and President Barack Obama held a meeting at the White House, the Obama administration has made clear in public and private meetings with Israeli officials that it intends to hold a firm line on Obama's call to stop Israeli settlements. According to many observers in Washington and Israel, the Israeli prime minister, looking for loopholes and hidden agreements that have often existed in the past with Washington, has been flummoxed by an unusually united line that has come not just from Obama White House and the secretary of state, but also from pro-Israel congressmen and women who have come through Israel for meetings with him over Memorial Day recess. To Netanyahu's dismay, Obama doesn't appear to have a hidden policy. It is what he said it was.
"This is a sea change for Netanyahu," a former senior Clinton administration official who worked on Middle East issues said. The official said that the basis of the Obama White House's resolve is the conviction that it is in the United States' as well as Israel's interest to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "We have significant, existential threats that Israel faces from Iran and that the U.S. faces from this region. It is in our mutual interest to end this conflict, and to begin to build new regional alliances."
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2 comments:
I don't buy it, but we'll see.
I understand your cynicism. My optimism came from several things Obama said during the campaign which led me to believe that he gets this. Of course, he still has to get Netanyahu to move, which will be like moving a mountain, but he's certainly started with the right attitude.
Now he just has to do it.
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