14/03/2010 Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday again sought to calm tensions after coming under fire at home over a growing row with the United States over settlements.
Washington has harshly rebuked Israel over the announcement of plans for 1,600 new settlements in occupied east Jerusalem during a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden earlier this week to press for “peace talks”. "The crisis is still in full force and has reached new heights. It appears to be far more severe than anything we've known in the past decade, and perhaps even longer," Israel's Maariv newspaper said in an editorial.
Officials in Netanyahu's office have insisted the crisis is over following a public apology, and on Sunday the prime minister told reporters not to get "carried away" over the matter. "I suggest we don't get carried away and calm down. We know how to deal with situations like these calmly," he said ahead of a weekly cabinet meeting.
But the Israeli press remained highly critical of Netanyahu following a rare public rebuke by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said the move sent a "deeply negative signal" about Israel's ties to its top ally. "When was the last time we heard such harsh words, and such a cold and alienated tone of voice from Washington? And it isn't just the tone and the words. It is the lack of trust, the contempt," Israel's mass-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper said in an editorial entitled "Spit in the face." Israel has always viewed the United States as its most important ally.
"We are heading into crucial days. The Iranian nuclear threat requires a prime minister who is the US president's darling," the Maariv editorial said. "Instead, we have gotten ourselves a prime minister who is very close to being persona non grata in Washington. That is saddening, and it is also troubling."
The Israeli announcement took the US by surprise and enraged Palestinians and Arab states, jeopardizing indirect peace talks US Mideast envoy George Mitchell is to mediate.
Washington has harshly rebuked Israel over the announcement of plans for 1,600 new settlements in occupied east Jerusalem during a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden earlier this week to press for “peace talks”. "The crisis is still in full force and has reached new heights. It appears to be far more severe than anything we've known in the past decade, and perhaps even longer," Israel's Maariv newspaper said in an editorial.
Officials in Netanyahu's office have insisted the crisis is over following a public apology, and on Sunday the prime minister told reporters not to get "carried away" over the matter. "I suggest we don't get carried away and calm down. We know how to deal with situations like these calmly," he said ahead of a weekly cabinet meeting.
But the Israeli press remained highly critical of Netanyahu following a rare public rebuke by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said the move sent a "deeply negative signal" about Israel's ties to its top ally. "When was the last time we heard such harsh words, and such a cold and alienated tone of voice from Washington? And it isn't just the tone and the words. It is the lack of trust, the contempt," Israel's mass-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper said in an editorial entitled "Spit in the face." Israel has always viewed the United States as its most important ally.
"We are heading into crucial days. The Iranian nuclear threat requires a prime minister who is the US president's darling," the Maariv editorial said. "Instead, we have gotten ourselves a prime minister who is very close to being persona non grata in Washington. That is saddening, and it is also troubling."
The Israeli announcement took the US by surprise and enraged Palestinians and Arab states, jeopardizing indirect peace talks US Mideast envoy George Mitchell is to mediate.
Moreover, a top White House official said Sunday that Israel's announcement of plans to build 1,600 settlements in occupied East Jerusalem was not only an "insult" to the United States but "destructive" of the so-called Middle East peace process. "This was an affront, it was an insult but most importantly it undermined this very fragile effort to bring peace to that region," said David Axelrod, a senior advisor to Obama. "We have just started proximity talks, that is shuttle diplomacy, between the Palestinians and the Israelis, and for this announcement to come at that time was very destructive," he said.
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