Tuesday 5 May 2009

Obama Gets Tougher with Israel on Palestinians, Iran


Obama Gets Tougher with Israel on Palestinians, Iran
Hanan Awarekeh Readers Number : 2

05/05/2009 As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington May 17 approaches, the United States is sending strong messages on the establishment of a Palestinian state and Israeli settlement activity.

In an unexpectedly short speech before AIPAC's policy conference delegates late Monday night, Netanyahu stated his desire to pursue Mideast peace talks, and voiced his concern over Iran's progressing nuclear program.

The five-and-a-half minute address was transmitted via satellite from Tel Aviv to a crowd made up of the ambassadors of 66 countries and over half of the U.S. members of congress.

After thanking AIPAC activists for their work and the Congress members for their support, PM Netanyahu commented on where he saw Mideast peace talks: "Next week I'll be visiting Egypt with President Mubarak and I plan to discuss both matters with him - cooperation between the Arab world and cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians."

Commenting on Iran's wishes to gain nuclear capabilities, Netanyahu stated he felt the issue was of grave concern for both Arabs and Israelis: "There is something happening today in the Middle East, and I can say that for the first time in my lifetime I believe that Arabs and Jews see the common danger. This wasn't always the case."

The prime minister also said: "The challenges today present great opportunities as well. The common danger is echoed by Arab leaders throughout the Middle East, Europeans, by many responsible governments around the world. I can put it in one sentence: 'Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.'"

Gen. James Jones, national security adviser to President Barack Obama, told a European foreign minister a week ago that unlike the Bush administration, Obama will be "forceful" with Israel.

Meanwhile, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told the AIPAC conference that two states for two peoples is the only solution the United States is committed to. "Relations between Israel and the U.S. are unbreakable," Emanuel said before a gathering of 350 AIPAC donors, adding that "this is the moment of truth for Israel and the Palestinians."

He also declared that "Iran is the number-one threat to the Middle East," and noted that it is hard to make progress wherever Tehran is involved in the Middle East.

Emanuel called for Israeli-Palestinian cooperation if Iran is to be countered effectively.

He said the United States was trying to enter a dialogue with countries such as Syria and Iran, even though it was still unclear whether these countries would alter their behavior. He reiterated that the United States wants to talk with Iran in the hope that Tehran will relinquish its efforts to gain nuclear weapons.

On Monday, Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post said that Israeli President Shimon Peres sought to indirectly push the Israel lobby and Arabs to pressure Obama’s reluctant administration to sanction a strike on Iran regardless of the timing after feeling the US had abandoned Israel with regards to Iran.

“There is worrying information relayed to Israel by ‘European sides’ that the United States has yielded to the fact that Iran might go nuclear and that Washington will not try to stop the Islamic Republic. There is more information that says that officials in Obama’s administration prefer the ‘Iranian bomb’ on attacking Tehran. This is why Israel is studying ways to persuade the Americans into changing their position,” said Ayala Hassoun, an Israeli political analyst.

Several days ago, a classified telegram was received in Tel Aviv discussing a meeting between Jones and a European foreign minister. Jones told his European interlocutor that President George W. Bush had avoided actions on the Palestinian question that Israel opposed, but the Obama administration intended to change this practice and become more active. It would not make concessions on matters that Israel had committed to.

"The new administration will convince Israel to compromise on the Palestinian question," Jones said. "We will not push Israel under the wheels of a bus, but we will be more forceful toward Israel than we have been under Bush."

Jones is quoted in the telegram as saying that the United States, European Union and so-called “moderate” Arab states must redefine "a satisfactory endgame solution."

The U.S. national security adviser did not mention Israel as party to these consultations.

In the upcoming days Uzi Arad, Netanyahu's national security adviser, will travel to London for a meeting with his American counterpart to discuss the meeting between the prime minister and Obama on May 18.

Meanwhile, some observers in the United States have expressed concerns that the differences between Israel and the new U.S. administration are leading to a clash.

Robert Satloff, the director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said he is concerned by the disagreements between Israel and the United States regarding Iran. "If there is no complete agreement on all the details in dealing with this issue, there is a chance for the most serious dispute between the U.S. and Israel in the entire 61 years of relations between the two," Satloff said.

No comments: