U.S. ups pressure on Israel to halt settlements
WASHINGTON —
The United States Tuesday stepped up pressure on visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt Jewish settlements as a step towards reviving the peace process with the Palestinians.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used a press conference to drive home the U.S. position on the settlements, and the issue was raised directly with Netanyahu by Senator John Kerry during a visit to the Congress.
“The president was very clear yesterday in his statement that he wants to see a stop to the settlements,” Clinton told reporters.
“I hosted a dinner for Prime Minister Netanyahu later in the day at the State Department and we reiterated that that is the position and policy of the United States government.”
She added the United States is “committed to a two-state solution and obviously underlying that commitment is the conviction that the Palestinians deserve a viable state.
“And therefore nothing should be done to undermine the potential resolution of the peace effort that could prevent such a two-state solution from taking hold.”
After meeting with Kerry, Netanyahu said he wanted to renew the Palestinian peace process “immediately,” in tandem with an effort to gain backing from Arab states for efforts to counter Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“We have a unique historical circumstance in that Israel and many of our Arab neighbors understand the threat posed by Iran’s quest to develop nuclear weapons capabilities,” Netanyahu said.
“We intend to pursue the peace track independently of what happens in Iran, but in point of fact ... it should be done in parallel,” he said.
Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was encouraged by the meeting but directly raised the issue of Jewish settlements with Netanyahu.
“I reemphasized to the prime minister the importance of Israel moving forward especially in respect to the settlements issue,” Kerry said with Netanyahu at his side.
“We also emphasized that this is not a one way street and the burden is not only on Israel to take all the steps,” he said.
He said it was vital that the Arab world also “takes steps to indicate its willingness to contribute to the progress on the road toward peace.”
The Israeli prime minister made the rounds of Congress a day after a White House meeting with Obama in which the two appeared at odds in their approaches to Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
However, Netanyahu told Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner he saw “an American consensus” regarding “the special relationship we have between Israel and the United States.”
“We face opportunities and challenge. The challenge is the potential arming of Iran with nuclear weapons capabilities. That is a great danger to all of us,” warned Netanyahu.
The prime minister said he would pursue “the advancement of peace between us and the Palestinians”—omitting talk of a Palestinian state—as well as normal relations with the broader Arab world.
Pelosi and Boehner, divided over major issues of domestic policy and bitter foes in the dispute over alleged U.S. torture, underlined the consensus in the Congress over the need to keep Iran from getting nuclear weapons.
“The question of Iran is one that is of concern to us in Congress,” said Pelosi. “It is an issue for the world. It is important for all of us to work together to be sure that Iran does not develop a weapon of mass destruction.”
Boehner said that “what happens with regard to dealing with the Palestinians is of concern to all of us. And I think we share, as the speaker said, a mutual concern about the development of nuclear weapons in Israel—I mean in Iran.
“We have no closer ally and friend anywhere in the world than the state of Israel,” he added.
Wire reports
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14 Comments
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Den Den
Pressure? Like what? No war crimes tribunals, no sanctions, no UN peacekeepers. Just words, words and more words.
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grafton
Den Den at 07:42 AM JST - 20th May “Just words, words and more words.”
For Americans that’s not bad going. Nobody got killed.
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skipthesong
I am agaisnt the settlements, however, this: “And therefore nothing should be done to undermine the potential resolution of the peace effort that could prevent such a two-state solution from taking hold.”"
Why didn't the Palestinians do that in the beginning? Why wouldn't they just let the Jews gain independence, not have all the other Arab countries invade Israel on their behalf?
And just who is going to fund this new state? The Jews did most of the building up that land by themselves.
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SuperLib
The Israelis should stop settlements. It's just common sense.
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skipthesong
The Israelis should stop settlements. It's just common sense." Yes, it is. Its just antagonizing the sit.
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WilliB
As expected, Obama puts "pressure" on the Israelis. That is so easy, after all. Do we hear anything about pressure on the PA to accept Israels right to exist? Any pressure on Hamas to stop their terrorism? Nope, no such thing.
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adaydream
When was the last time Palestine/Hamas attacked Israel? < :-)
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Helter_Skelter
Ah yes, the delusion that stopping the settlements will bring "peace" to the region. When Muslim Arabs don't even believe in the right of Israel to exist, what difference are the settlements going to make? Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other Muslim Arab terrorist groups will continue their quest, statehood or not.
The amount of aid Israel receives from the US represents only a few percent of their GDP. Yet, it allows the US to pressure Israel into doing things that aren't in its best interest, especially now with Obama in office. They should stop accepting US aid, and then do what ever they need to do to protect their national security.
The US needs to stop all foreign aid anyway, especially to Muslim countries like Egypt and Jordan which receive nearly as much as Israel. Of course, the leftists predictably never complain about this since there is no political gain.
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Den Den
Skipthesong, do some research. Many Isrealis live in homes stolen from Palestinians way back when. If you want to doubt this, explain the keys I have personally seen in Lebanon and Syria.
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WilliB
DenDen:
I can show you a bunch of keys too; what does that prove? Fact is, about 200,000 muslim Arabs fled Israel when it was created. They are all Octogenerians or dead today; meanwhile the number of so-called "refugees" who claim a right to reside in Israel has multiplied to about 6 million. No other group in the world claims this miraculous hereditary refugee right.
Meanwhile, about a million Jews fled the persecution in Arab countries; nobody talks about them. To the contrary, part of the PA "peace" condition is a Jew-free West Bank. If the muslim Arabs were willing and able to live in peace with Jews, they could demonstrate that right there (and in Gaza).
But you will wait in vain for that.
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SuperLib
I believe the last rocket fell in Sderot within the last 48 hours.
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teleprompter
Clearly you were were duped there, old top. Keys to "petrol cars" they were. Had that trick pulled on me several times on my first solo crossing of the Empty Quarter, en route from Riyadh to abu Dhabi.
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skipthesong
about 200,000 muslim Arabs fled Israel when it was created" No, they were told to get out of the way for the advancing Arab armies.
DenDen, regardless of how much I study, you won't be swayed. The Jews of that land rose up and declared themselves independent, without being rule under Islamic laws. People like you and YOUR view of history paint a picture that there were no Jews there before the state was created. Why don't you look up how life was for these Jews in the beginning of the 20th century... Let it be known now, Israel would be making a big mistake if they granted an independent state with the very people who opposed their independence.
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likeitis
Judging by the title, you might think there would be a lot of talk about settlements, but NOOOOOOOO.....
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