Netanyahu's position is "perilous": U.S. official
Adam Entous
WASHINGTON
Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:52am EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political standing is "perilous" because of divisions within his coalition over efforts to pursue peace with the Palestinians, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.
Israel's announcement this week, during a visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, of plans to build 1,600 settler homes in an area of the occupied West Bank it annexed to Jerusalem, cast a shadow over U.S. efforts to relaunch Middle East peacemaking.
The decision was a blow to Biden's mission and sent him and other top American officials scrambling to shore up Palestinian and Arab support for launching U.S.-led "proximity" talks as early as next week, although officials acknowledged there could be a further delay.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephoned Netanyahu to tell him the settlements announcement was a "deeply negative signal about Israel's approach to the bilateral relationship ... and had undermined trust and confidence in the peace process," a State Department spokesman said on Friday.
"The Israelis know the only way to stay on the positive side of the ledger -- internationally and with us -- is to not have them recurring," the senior Obama administration official said of announcements about expanding settlements.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, predicted "a dicey period here in the next couple days to a couple of weeks" as Washington tries to get the indirect talks launched.
Entering negotiations with the Palestinians on so-called core issues including statehood borders and the fate of Jerusalem could spark a revolt from Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners and destabilize his government.
The senior administration official termed Netanyahu's political position as "perilous" because of the divisions. Right-wing parties oppose peace moves, including a full settlement freeze, sought by the Palestinians and the United States.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who holds sway in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has likewise been seriously weakened by his rivalry with Hamas Islamists, who control the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt.
The Obama administration believes the proximity talks may be the only way in the foreseeable future to ease Israel back to the negotiating table without triggering a political crisis.
Under the proposed format for the talks, Netanyahu could relay his positions on sensitive issues to a U.S. mediator, George Mitchell, instead of to the Palestinians directly.
But Israeli officials say Netanyahu is resisting the inclusion of core issues in the proximity phase, casting doubt on the scope of the talks.
The senior official said Netanyahu's assurances the 1,600 houses would not be built for at least a year were meant to give Abbas the political cover he needed to move forward as planned.
"Nothing is going to go up anytime soon, this was a year away at a minimum, which is another way of saying, 'Hey look, I'm not building anything. Nothing's going to be built here,'" the official said of the private messages relayed to Abbas by the vice president.
By vouching for Netanyahu, Abbas was "able to say with certainty to his team, 'Look, this is a fight about something in the future and the way to deal with that is to get into talks,'" the official said.
(Editing by Peter Cooney)
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CommentsSee All Comments (9) | Post Comment
Mar 13, 2010 8:44am ESTThe US needs to leave Israel alone and stop the support. Let them run their own country
STORY-BURN Report As Abusive
Mar 13, 2010 8:50am ESTWho cares!!! My boyfriend thinks the same with me. He- is eight years older than me, lol. We met online at an age gap dating site- A_ge_m_in_gle @ c.o.m a nice and free place for Younger- Women and Older Men, or Older Women and Younger Men, to- interact with each other. Maybe you wanna check out or- tell your friends.
maggiehu345 Report As Abusive
Mar 13, 2010 9:35am ESTObama, his socialist radicals, and his Chicago thugs are on the side of Hamas not Israel.
Read about Obama and Rashid Khalidi.
Truthnow Report As Abusive
Mar 13, 2010 10:00am ESTThe settlement is really an apartment complex. Let us divide London into ethnic divisions and give it a Muslim Quarter also how about doing the same with DC? Think divided cities make excellent sense.
Israel and Jews realize we are back to the 1930’s again with the Arabs continuing with their Nazi allies left off.
hoofmark Report As Abusive
Mar 13, 2010 11:00am EST@STORY-BURN the US and its partners need to admit that their vision is a complete FAILURE.. then withdraw all support including financial and let the region sort it out. Yes that does mean a lot of Israeli’s and US and European citizens going back home but come one.. do you really still condone colonisation in the 22nd century? I am pretty sure a peaceful result will come about in the end without externals forces arming either side especially the Israeli’s who of late are quite arrogant about their place in this region.
krycor Report As Abusive
Mar 13, 2010 11:04am ESTas long as americans support israelies, they never going to changes the position..
they always enagage deceiving tactics with
palestinians.. jews dont have genuine feeling to settle this issue.
django Report As Abusive
Mar 13, 2010 11:27am ESTNot only does Israel need a slap in it’s face by the US the US and UK bible based churches need to get out of international mid east politics because 99.9% of the world think Armageddon politics is crazy.
XMarine Report As Abusive
Mar 13, 2010 11:27am ESTIsrael has played fairly with the Palestinians for years in spite of the fact that their claims do not hold up under international or US law.
That said, Israel has already proven it is willing to give developed land to the Palestinians as part of a peace deal – as that idea failed when Hamas took over Gaza it is time the Jordanian Arabs calling themselves Palestinian start working on confidence building measures towards Israel.
The various Palestinian leaders have proven time and again that they would rather fight Israel than take care of their own people.
We have a 3500 year connection to this land with a continuous presence here and you have your own country with your own Palestinian Queen in Jordan.
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