(Ha'aretz) Ari Shavit - President Obama's demands during his meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu last Tuesday point to an intention to impose a permanent settlement on Israel and the Palestinians in less than two years, political sources in Jerusalem say. Israeli officials view the demands that Obama made at the White House as the tip of the iceberg under which lies a dramatic change in U.S. policy toward Israel. Of ten demands posed by Obama, four deal with Jerusalem: opening a Palestinian commercial interests office in east Jerusalem, an end to the razing of structures in Palestinian neighborhoods in the capital, stopping construction in Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, and not building in the neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo. The fact that the White House and State Department have been in contact with Israel's European allies, first and foremost Germany, is seen as part of an effort to isolate Israel and put enormous political pressure on it.
2010-03-29 07:52:44Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive