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Recent Comments from Washington Are Undermining U.S. Policy

(Jerusalem Post) Zalman Shoval - The patronizing reaction in parts of the American media and from certain officials in Washington to the outcome of the Israeli elections is a slap in the face to Israel's democracy and its people's right to make up their own mind. The Palestinian position clearly indicates that compromise and concessions are to be made by Israel alone. Unfortunately, the recent comments emanating from Washington can only encourage Abbas to persist in his strategic quest to achieve statehood not by direct talks with Israel but through the UN and other international bodies. This would be in direct contravention of established U.S. policy. The president expressed his misgivings about "seeing a chaotic situation in the region" - but unfortunately that situation is already here, all over the Middle East - and it has nothing to do with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as President Obama himself admitted in his last year's UN speech. There was also the mantra of "expanding" settlements, though America closely monitors everything going on beyond the former "Green Line" and knows that in fact there has been little settlement-related activity for many years - except in the big settlement blocs whose area is no greater than 5% of the West Bank. The writer is a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S.
2015-03-26 00:00:00
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