Free Republic

President Obama is ramping up his one-sided pressure on Israel in his quest to achieve a middle-east peace plan that will be detrimental to the Jewish State. The Palestinian-leaning POTUS' latest threat is that if Netanyahu doesn't cave on the settlement issue, Obama will not be his friend.... "Netanyahu’s at a pivotal moment,” said a senior U.S. official. “Depending on what he decides, he could wind up with a very strong relationship with President Obama and potentially become a historic figure in Israel."

be his friend in return for a freeze on building for Jews in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, according to Politco.com editor Ben Smith. The relationship between the two leaders has been termed as chilly even before they met in Washington earlier this year. "Netanyahu’s at a pivotal moment,” a senior U.S. official told Smith. “Depending on what he decides, he could wind up with a very strong relationship with President Obama and potentially become a historic figure in Israel." Ron Dermer, spokesman for the Prime Minister, declined to comment on the report.

BERLIN - The Obama administration has agreed to Israel's request to remove East Jerusalem from negotiations on the impending settlement freeze. According to both Israeli officials and Western diplomats, U.S. envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell has recognized the fact that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot announce a settlement freeze in East Jerusalem. The officials said the U.S. will not endorse new construction there, but would not demand Jerusalem publicly announce a freeze. Netanyahu presented a proposal on Wednesday for resolving the ongoing Israeli-American dispute over construction in the settlements. In a meeting with Mitchell, Netanyahu suggested a temporary...

Netanyahu on Wednesday presented a proposal for resolving the ongoing Israeli-American dispute over construction in the settlements. In a meeting with Mitchell, Netanyahu suggested a temporary freeze, reportedly for nine months, on construction in the West Bank, a government source said. Netanyahu also said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' reported willingness to meet with him was "a positive first step." The Americans are slated to respond to Netanyahu's proposal at a meeting in Washington next week between Mitchell and two Israeli officials: Netanyahu's envoy, attorney Yitzhak Molcho, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak's chief of staff, Brig. Gen. Mike Herzog....

Netanyahu in UK: Settlement construction not a land grabPrime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu emerged from his meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Tuesday afternoon in London saying that Israel and the US were trying to come up with "a bridging formula" that would allow the launching of the peace process, while at the same time enabling normal life in the settlements. Netanyahu said that one could not expect Israel to allow a population of 250,000 residents of the territories to live there without new schools, kindergartens, or homes for their families. "This is different from grabbing land," Netanyahu said during...

US House Majority leader Steny Hoyer praised Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, called for the Palestinian Authority to drop any preconditions to negotiations, and said that Congress differentiated between building in east Jerusalem and in the West Bank, during an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Monday. Hoyer, currently in the country leading a delegation of 29 Democratic legislators, also said the rhetoric coming out of the Fatah General Assembly in Bethlehem was "unfortunate." The delegation, sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, a charitable organization affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, arrived on Sunday evening and met Monday...

JERUSALEM – In a statement to WND, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office today objected to U.S. condemnation of the Israeli government for enforcing property law in Jerusalem by evicting Arabs from a Jewish housing complex they purportedly had been illegally occupying for almost a century.

JERUSALEM, Jul 23 (IPS) - Israel's newly installed ambassador in Washington says the "disagreement" with the U.S. over Israel's settlement policy will be resolved "soon". Speaking on Israel Radio, Michael Oren was giving his first interview since taking up his post. His upbeat assessment is challenged by many other Israeli officials and by most political pundits who foresee the U.S. and Israel being on collision course. With the EU and Russia following suit. Defining Israel's 'settlement policy' is the nub: Does it include also occupied East Jerusalem? A low-key U.S. demand for Israel to scrap a plan for a new...

Last summer, in the course of a campaign speech reaching out to pro-Israel groups concerned about his commitment to the Jewish state, then presidential candidate Barack Obama declared, "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided." Those words, which he later qualified, may now be coming back to haunt the President as he seeks to restart the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process by getting Israel to freeze all construction outside its pre-1967 borders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has drawn a line in the sand over Jerusalem, vehemently rejecting Washington's demand that he halt a construction project...

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a sharp response Sunday to United States pressure to stop Jews from building in parts of Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinian Authority. Israel's sovereignty in Jerusalem is “not up for debate,” Netanyahu said, and Jews are permitted to build in any part of the capital city, as are Arabs. Netanyahu implied that the U.S. request was racist, saying before the weekly Cabinet meeting, “Imagine what would happen if Jews were forbidden to live or to buy apartments in certain parts of London, New York, Paris or Rome. There would be an international outcry." "All...

Jerusalem is the "unified capital of Israel and the capital of the Jewish people, and sovereignty over it is indisputable," Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday, responding to an American demand to put an end to a housing project to be built in east Jerusalem. "Hundreds of apartments in the west of the city were purchased by Arabs and we didn't get involved. There is no prohibition against Arab residents buying apartments in the west of the city and there is no prohibition barring the city's Jewish residents from buying or building in the east of the city," Netanyahu added...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem was not a matter up for discussion. The prime minister's comments came after the U.S. State Department told Israeli envoy Michael Oren that Israel must halt a construction project in East Jerusalem. Netanyahu told ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting that Jerusalem is the united capital of Israel and that all citizens are allowed to purchase property in any part of the city they choose:"Jerusalem is the unified capital of Israel and the capital of the Jewish people, and sovereignty over it is indisputable".

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that international "arguing" over Israel's stance on settlements was impeding progress on the Middle East peace progress. In an interview with Italy's RAI TV, Netanyahu insisted that settlement activity in East Jerusalem and the West Bank must be viewed as separate issues, as Jerusalem is an inseparable part of Israel. He also said that Israel has been forthcoming with its intentions to halt construction while still allowing for natural growth in existing communities, which he called "an equitable position which reflexes our willingness to enter immediately in peace negotiations and get on with...

Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem are included in the US demand that Israel halt "settlement" construction, including for natural growth, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told 'The Jerusalem' Post during a press briefing on Monday.

The signature on the final agreement between the US and Israel for the supply of a first batch of F-35A LIGTHNING II fighter aircraft (a.k.a. JSF) would seem to mark a very important turning point in the political, strategic and military relationship between the two countries. The reasons for this author’s use of a cautious conditional tense will become evident in what follows. Needless to say, there never was any real doubt about the US being ready and willing to accept an IDF order for the F-35 as soon as Jerusalem was interested in placing it. Now, in this specific...

Reported 3-year delay in F-35 program may impact delivery By YAAKOV KATZ 11/03/2010 04:52 Less than a month after Israel signs contact to purchase squadron of stealth F-35 fighter jet, an internal review may affect delivery to the IAF. Less than a month after Israel signed a multibillion-dollar contract to purchase a squadron of stealth F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF), the Pentagon revealed on Tuesday that an internal review of the development program had concluded that delivery of the plane would be delayed by three years. On Tuesday, the Pentagon’s Defense Acquisition Board submitted a report to Secretary of Defense...

An announced engine selection for Israel's first batch of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters has sparked a new dispute between both rival manufacturers. Pratt & Whitney says the company has received a verbal commitment by Israel to buy the F135 engine to power the first batch of 20 F-35s ordered under a $2.75 billion agreement signed last week. The General Electric/Rolls-Royce team developing the F136 alternate engine claims the selection process remains ongoing. "We fully anticipate we will have an opportunity to compete with the F136" in Israel, GE says. The controversy leaves in doubt the first potential engine selection by...

Photographed by Reuters .....Prev Next Pause Play .1 ....Commander of the Egyptian Air Force Reda Mahmoud Hafez on Wednesday downplayed the military importance of a recent decision by Washington to provide Israel with a number of US F-35 fighter jets and dismissed fears that the move might alter the regional balance of power. Last week, Israel signed a contract with the US for the purchase of 20 F-35 fighter jets as part of what US officials described as an incentive package for the self-proclaimed Jewish state to move ahead with sputtering peace talks with the Palestinian Authority. “We're not alarmed...

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. and Israeli governments signed an agreement Thursday for Israel's purchase of a squadron of 20 American-made F-35 stealth fighter jets that have the capability of reaching Iran undetected by radar. Ministry of Defense Director-General Ehud Shani said at a signing ceremony at the Israeli consulate here that the jets would shift the balance of power in the Middle East, strengthening Israel's ability to defend its borders or counter with its own attack. "In the region there are a lot of problems and challenges, and part of the solution are military capabilities," he said. Israel...

Israel's purchase of 20 Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters, the world's most advanced combat jets, significantly enhances the Jewish state's ability to defend itself "by itself," in the words of U.N. Ambassador Michael Oren. His comment following Thursday's contract signing in New York, is a clear reference to possible conflict with Iran, against whose nuclear installations Israel has threatened to launch pre-emptive strikes. However, Israel is unlikely to take delivery of the first of the fifth- generation fighters until 2015 at the earliest, with completion scheduled for 2017. That should rule the F-35s out of any long-range mission against Iran...