Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the weekly cabinet meeting on February 16, 2014 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/POOL/Flash90)
Posted on 03/02/2014 5:47:53 PM PST by Ooh-Ah
Ahead of meeting with Netanyahu, president says unprecedented ‘aggressive settlement construction’ detrimental to peace process
Israel can expect to face international isolation and possible sanctions from countries and companies across the world if Benjamin Netanyahu fails to endorse a framework agreement with the Palestinians, US President Barack Obama cautioned on Sunday ahead of a meeting with the Israeli prime minister.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Obama stressed that time was running out for Israel to achieve a peace deal, and added that he believed Netanyahu had the capacity to rally Israel’s citizens behind an agreement.
But if Netanyahu “does not believe that a peace deal with the Palestinians is the right thing to do for Israel, then he needs to articulate an alternative approach,” Obama said.
“There comes a point where you can’t manage this anymore, and then you start having to make very difficult choices,” he said.
The president went on to stress that he would convey to Netanyahu, in the spirit of the Jewish sage Hillel the Elder, that the prime minister could lead Israel toward peace if he chose to do so.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the weekly cabinet meeting on February 16, 2014 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/POOL/Flash90)
“If not now, when? And if not you, Mr. Prime Minister, then who?” Obama said.
The president went on to condemn in no uncertain terms Israel’s settlement activities in the West Bank, and said that though his allegiance to the Jewish state was permanent, building settlements across the Green Line was counterproductive and would make it extremely difficult for the US to defend Israel from painful repercussions in the international community.
“If you see no peace deal and continued aggressive settlement construction — and we have seen more aggressive settlement construction over the last couple years than we’ve seen in a very long time — if Palestinians come to believe that the possibility of a contiguous sovereign Palestinian state is no longer within reach, then our ability to manage the international fallout is going to be limited,” Obama said.
The president added that Israel must come to a decision over its future character and weigh whether its current policies are conducive to achieving its true aspirations.
“Do you resign yourself to what amounts to a permanent occupation of the West Bank?” he inquired of the Israeli public.
“Is that the character of Israel as a state for a long period of time? Do you perpetuate, over the course of a decade or two decades, more and more restrictive policies in terms of Palestinian movement? Do you place restrictions on Arab Israelis in ways that run counter to Israel’s traditions?” he asked.
Obama further stated that in his opinion, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “has proven himself to be somebody who has been committed to nonviolence and diplomatic efforts to resolve” the conflict.
US Secretary of State John Kerry (right) and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speak with the press after a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 2013. (photo credit: Issam Rimawi/Flash90)
“We do not know what a successor to Abbas will look like,” he added.
Asked whether he felt Abbas was sincere about his willingness to recognize Israel and its right to exist, the president replied that he was sure that was the case.
“I think that this is a rare quality not just within the Palestinian territories, but in the Middle East generally,” Obama said of the Palestinian leader. ”For us not to seize that opportunity would be a mistake.”
Netanyahu left for Washington Sunday for talks about the US-led peace process and nuclear negotiations between world powers and Iran.
Although Netanyahu would like the conversation with Obama to focus primarily on Iran, the White House appears to have a different agenda.
“Obama will press him to agree to a framework for a conclusive round of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations that is being drafted by Secretary of State John Kerry,” The New York Times quoted senior US officials as saying last week.
Direct peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, which began last July with the goal of reaching a deal within nine months, have made no visible progress.
Kerry is now focused on getting the two sides to agree on a framework proposal which would extend the deadline until the year’s end.
Although the document has not yet been made public, it is understood to be a non-binding proposal laying out guidelines for negotiating the central issues of the conflict, such as borders, security, Jerusalem, Israeli settlements and the right of return for Palestinian refugees.
The proposal, or its outline, is likely to be presented to Netanyahu this week and to Abbas on March 17 when he meets Obama at the White House.
Muslim Code....Kill all the Christians and Jews.
And just think: There was a time when people thought Carter was the worst President ha ha ha.
Is that a red line?
Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. - Zechariah 2:7-8
No...it is a “rainbow” line.
He isn’t going to protect you anyway, Bibi. Look at Ukraine.
No one could have seen this coming. sarc/
Well, sooner or later Israel will need to find out that it’s God, not even their own strength let alone a foreign country’s, that they need to be calling upon for help.
A veil is over their hearts. Of course if you tell them that, they will indignantly ask, “what veil?”
The problem is that they recast their religion so as almost completely to obliterate the idea of the effectual salvation of God. Oh, you can beg for it, but to claim it? Are you crazy, only our rabbis can get that for you!
FUBO!! Worst president ever!!
Tough talk...coercion for our allies.
I doubt that will ever happen.
The "Elite" of America, especially the political "elite", hate God and God's people, beginning with Israel and extending to Christians, specifically Bible believing (genuine) Christians.
Obama is the darling of the Elite. He serves their desires and the desires of their infernal master. Murder babies, make homosexuals predominant, destroy Israel and anyone and anything which supports her.
Ah, now we see why obungler is disarming the US - so he CAN’T defend Israel cuz he gave all our weapons to his muzzie buddies. And we thought he was doing it just to make us vulnerable.
Wait, you forgot “goes on vacation, plays golf and hangs with Jay-Z and Beyonce.” Your list and that describes everything he’s ever done in his entire abomination of a Presidency.
B**st**d!
what did bastids ever do to deserve to be compared to our dear barack?
First of the four blood moons coming up on April 14th.
I guess I’m not surprised by the words of this president, but it’s scary to watch him follow the script to the destruction of the US. These evil monsters that are representative to America’s leftist communist party; the Democrats, say that the Palestinian Authority recognizes Israel when I read quite differently.
//BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff
January 14, 2014 10:10 am
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in a speech Saturday that the Palestinians would never recognize Israel as a Jewish state, Israel Hayom reports.//
And that’s just the first thing I saw when I googled it.
Israel does not need the United States.
Putin is making him look like a chump, so he tries to demonstrate his manhood by bullying Israel.
A quote from my pastor’s sermon this evening: “G-d is not an American”.
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