Washington – Israeli Ambassador: Worst Crisis with U.S. Since ’75
- March 15, 2010 - כ"ט אדר תש"ע
- Politics
- 1,526 views
- Add a comment
Washington – Israel’s ambassador to Washington Michael Oren convened Foreign Ministry consuls for an emergency briefing, and told them the crisis between Israel and the US is the worst since 1975, Army Radio reported.
Oren was referring to a crisis that evolved when Israel refused to sign a treaty to withdraw forces from Sinai in 1975.
In an unusual move, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) made a public call on the White House to tone down the rhetoric. The lobby said statements made by senior officials in US President Barack Obama’s administration were “very worrying.”
The crisis erupted late last week when the Interior Ministry announced the building of 1,600 housing units in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, while US Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Israel.
The US administration refused to let go of the issue, even after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu apologized to Biden and Biden said the apology was accepted.
AIPAC said the White House should avoid public demands and unilaterally setting a timetable for Israel to follow.
In his briefing to consuls, Oren said the crisis with the US is of “historic” proportions.
The US reportedly wants Israel to announce that it’s cancelling the Ramat Shlomo project, investigate how the project came to be announced when Biden was here, and make gestures towards the Palestinian Authority. The US also reportedly demands that Israel publicly announce that all core issues will be discussed during negotiations.
On Sunday, Anti Defamation League National Director Abe Foxman said the US criticism was “especially troubling” because Netanyahu had offered clear explanations of the announcement mishap both publicly and privately.
“US Vice President Joe Biden accepted the prime minister’s apology,” Foxman said. “Therefore, to raise the issue again in this way is a gross overreaction to a point of policy difference among friends.
“We cannot remember an instance when such harsh language was directed at a friend and ally of the United States,” the statement continued. “One can only wonder how far the US is prepared to go in distancing itself from Israel in order to placate the Palestinians in the hope they see it is in their interest to return to the negotiating table.”
News Source: Jerusalem PostSimilar Posts On Jewkey
About the Author
admin has written 435 stories on this site.
