(Jerusalem Post) Hilary Leila Krieger - Senior White House official Dan Shapiro, the U.S. National Security Council's top Middle East adviser, called American Jewish leaders Friday to reassure them that a resolution to the U.S.-Israel dispute was close. Shapiro said the Obama administration had not chosen to put the issue of Jerusalem on the agenda, that it was a final-status issue to be resolved between the parties, and that the U.S. had no interest in raising it at this time. Since Netanyahu's visit with Obama in Washington last week, his office has been working to hammer out a series of gestures to restart the indirect talks per the request of Obama. Shapiro said such a package was close to being concluded and that proximity talks would start soon. He spent a considerable amount of time pushing back against media reports calling the recent tensions a crisis. He also noted that Netanyahu's meeting with Obama dealt significantly with Iran, on which he said there is close coordination between the two countries. "They wanted to do something to cool everything down a little bit," said one participant in the call. Yet he questioned the White House take on the recent tensions. "They created the storm. Why are they surprised?"
2010-04-06 11:01:57Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive