US official: Mitchell didn't threaten Israel (Yes he did! Threatened to cut off aid to Israel)

YNET ^ | 1/9/2010 | Yitzhak Benhorin

[tobyhill]

Attempt to soften message? An American official said Saturday night that Mideast envoy George Mitchell's remark that US aid to Israel may be jeopardized was not a threat, but a response to an interviewer's question on the American administration's options if Israel refused to resume peace talks with the Palestinians.

"It was not a threat and not an implied threat," the senior official told Ynet.

On the eve of his visit to the Middle East, Mitchell hinted that his country could freeze its aid to Israel if the Jewish state failed to advance peace talks with the Palestinians and a two-state solution.

Mitchell clarified in an interview to PBS' "Charlie Rose" show that the United States would use incentives or sanctions against both sides. According to American law, Mitchell said, the US can freeze its support for aid to Israel.

[jwparkerjr]

Sure it was a threat. That's all this bunch knows how to do. They don't like Israel, and make no pretenses to the contrary. Their threat to take away money Israel needs and depends on is just one more step in their never-ending attempts to bolster the other side.

[VRWCTexan]

This is the 3rd or 3th time Mitchell has made various threats, and when Israeli’s called his hand, he and others were forced to crawfish

[Nachum]

The list, ping

[bitt]

they should tell him and O to go pound sand.

better yet, they should tell Mitchell not to come over, and send someone they can talk to.

[PaleoBob]

What differnece does it make whether Israel talks or doesn’t talk with the Palestinians? It’s all BS with the Palestinians. They aren’t gonna be peaceful no matter what is “talked” about. The Israelis oughta hire a ventriloquist dummy to “talk” to the Palestinians until all sides are blue in the face. It makes no differnece whatsoever. And only an idiot American liberal would imagine it does.

[Tigen]

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/178208

PM’s Office: PA the Obstacle to Peace

IsraelNN.com)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office on Saturday night reacted to threats by U.S. envoy George Mitchell to freeze American aid to Israel by laying the blame for lack of progress in negotiations on the Palestinian Authority. Mitchell made the statement in a PBS interview over the weekend.

“Everyone knows that the PA refuses to restart the talks, while Israel has undertaken significant steps to restart the process. The PA is the one that must change its ways, not Israel,” a statement by the PM’s office said.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/178205

Report: Abbas to Head to Syria
(IsraelNN.com)
Palestinian Authority sources on Sunday told Arab media that PA chief Mahmoud Abbas would visit Syria in the near future. The purpose of the visit would be to move forward with a deal to allow the Fatah and Hamas terror groups to jointly administer the PA.

[Jet Jaguar]

BTTT

[onyx]

I posted this same story earlier from Fox News when it first broke, and no amount of “clarification” from George Mitchell changes anything. The threat was directed to Israel, and not to the PA. There’s always only been one side that wants peace but Israel cannot and will not continue to make concession after concession while Bibi is PM and George Mitchell knows it, and that’s why he issued his threat.

[rae4palin]

And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse. (Gen 12:3)

This 4,000 year old promise is still in effect.

[jwparkerjr]

The bothersome thing is that the PA is being sent the message that by hardening their stand to prevent any progress in the talks they can make things worse for Israel. It's like telling the Taliban that we'll be out by a date certain.

How much more will it take before people begin to realize that whether by design or by accident the Obama administration is furthering the cause of America's enemies.

So much of what they are doing is working to destroy America at home and abroad.

[freedomrings69]

Mitchell and Obama are scum but Israel would be better off without US aid and the American taxpayers could use the break. Of course aid to Egypt and the PA should stop also.

[mountn man]

Of course aid to Egypt and the PA should stop also.

I wouldn't mind the aid so much, if it wasn't money, but instead military hardware. Maybe we could send them some missles. If they need the "aid" soon, we could have it there in minutes.

[stormer]

"...but Israel would be better off without US aid..."

Dumbest thing I've seen on FR in quite a while. Take a look at this chart:

In 2007 alone, the United States provided Israel with over 2.5 billion dollars in aid - that's just one year. From 1997 until 2007 we GAVE Israel over 32 billion dollars. Without the generosity of the American people, Israel would die on the vine.

[Blogger]

Not exactly, but your chart is interesting.

[onyx]

U.S. aid, in both real and nominal terms, has been declining for years. It's about $2.5 billion a year now, almost all of which has to be spent on U.S.-made weaponry. Rather than calling it foreign aid, it would be more accurate to say that we give Israel a bunch of weapons we can't use to keep our weapons factories humming, and the Congressional districts that house those factories happy.

Posted by Chicago Hebrew on another thread (same subject).

[onyx]

In 2007 alone, the United States provided Israel with over 2.5 billion dollars in aid - that's just one year. From 1997 until 2007 we GAVE Israel over 32 billion dollars. Without the generosity of the American people, Israel would die on the vine.

Aren't you in favor of the aid given to Israel, the lone and tiny democracy in the whole of the Middle East?

Just think, it might come down to Israel saving the free world from a nuclear Iran (again).