Obama pulled letter because 'Palestinians' wouldn't go along?
You will note that in the
bait and switch post, someone commented that President Obama pulled the deal, because he believed Secretary of State Clinton had been too generous to Israel.
During the night, someone emailed me an even more plausible explanation: Obama pulled the deal because the 'Palestinians' were going to say 'no' anyway. That actually makes sense. The administration would not want to negotiate and sign a deal for the 'Palestinians' benefit, and then have them say 'no.'
So does this mean it's over (for now)? Maybe. But Israel ought to be building as much as possible
at least in the places and ways we built before the ten-month freeze. (I'd go further and say to go ahead and establish new Jewish towns, but that might tick the Americans off too much if they're not too busy with North Korea).
Heh.
Labels: bait and switch, Jerusalem construction, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, Judea and Samaria construction, Palestinian intransigence, settlement freeze extension
Clinton and Obama pulled 'bait and switch' on Netanyahu?
Just a couple of hours ago, I reported that a
letter of assurances regarding the 'settlement freeze' extension was ready. It may not have been everything Israel wanted, but at least it was something.
Now, there's a different report, which claims that there is no letter of assurances, and that President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton have pulled a
bait and switch on Prime Minister Netanyahu.
The source, a senior diplomat with inside knowledge of Netanyahu's recent meetings in Washington, said Clinton made commitments when talking to Netanyahu, but later slipped out of them by claiming that she had not been speaking on behalf of U.S. President Obama – who, she said in the end, did not give his approval.
When Netanyahu called the State Department to clarify America's position, officials expressed surprise at his surprise, the source continued. While Clinton made promises, Netanyahu knew from the beginning that Obama has the final word, they allegedly said.
Clinton had told Netanyahu that the proposed construction freeze would last for three months, and that it would end regardless of whether or not there was progress in talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. After that, she said, America would not push for a third building freeze.
However, according to the diplomat, U.S. leaders have since said that the building ban for Jews in Judea and Samaria would only end if Israel and the PA reached an agreement on the borders of a proposed PA state.
Several other American promises have been called into question as well. While it was initially reported that Israel would receive F-35 fighter jets in exchange for the freeze, Israeli ministers later clarified that the jets are part of a separate package, and that Israel will pay for them in full. It was also suggested that the construction ban would not apply to Jews living in Jerusalem; however, U.S. officials later stated that it would apply to all Jews living east of the 1949 armistice line, including those in Israel's capital city.
If Obama and Clinton want to do that, it's just fine. But if that's their game, they can take that 'settlement freeze extension' and put it where the sun don't shine. Netanyahu and Ehud Barak may be willing to vote for it, and maybe Dan Meridor as well, but no one else in the cabinet will.
If America does not openly declare that a second construction freeze would end in three months with or without a deal with the PA, Netanyahu is unlikely to get the cabinet's support for the new construction ban. Ministers in Shas and within Netanyahu's own Likud party have already stated that they would vote against the proposal without a U.S. promise.
They will also have blown whatever trust they have built up with Netanyahu since last May. And you can watch Obama's approval ratings with Israeli Jews head down toward 0%.
If this story is true, Obama and Clinton and whoever came up with this 'brilliant' idea of having Netanyahu sell the extension and then pulling the rug out from under him, are complete and total morons. This rates up there with the photographer-less meeting at the White House in March where Netanyahu had to go in through the service entrance. If this is true, I would bet on no further cooperation with Obama for the remainder of his term.
Labels: bait and switch, Barack Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Hillary Clinton, settlement freeze extension
You will note that in the bait and switch post, someone commented that President Obama pulled the deal, because he believed Secretary of State Clinton had been too generous to Israel.
