White House Denies Obama Letter Begging for Settlement Freeze Extension
60 Day Extension Was Said to Come With Major US Pledges
The White House is today denying reports of President Barack Obama having sent a personal letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu begging him for a 60 day extension to the settlement freeze and making a wide array of elaborate promises in return.
Mind you, the administration did not strictly deny that the offer was made, only that no letter was sent. Media reports had said that Obama promised no more pushing for further extensions past the 60 days, commitments to veto all “anti-Israel” measures at the UN, and make a number of other major security guarantees.
Obama had come under fire over the report, with the guarantees seeming almost ridiculously generous for a 60 day freeze designed solely to save a peace process that Prime Minister Netanyahu still claims to be committed to.
But the 60 day freeze seems like it might be too late to have anything but a rhetorical effect. The previous settlement freeze expired on Sunday and so there’s no obstacle to new construction approvals in the occupied West Bank. This means the government will likely approve a major new backlog of construction, as they did before the previous freeze, allowing it to continue virtually unabated through the whole period.
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Augusrbrhm
October 1st, 2010 at 2:24 am
It is a pity that a once powerful nation has been reduced to a begging status that they themselves caused. As events continue to detoriate and the U.S having lost all creditably worldwide the cancer will continue to eat away at the Palestinians..As americans aways say "god bless america"?.
tomofsnj
October 1st, 2010 at 3:42 am
I must be missing something. Why would we be forced to beg a nation which only exists because of the massive amount of USA taxpayers dollars which pay for everything from universal health care to providing a transportation system which allows for a bus for men and a bus for woman.
We should just show bibi the cancelled checks and ask the prime minister how he would like to balance his budget without USA taxpayers help. It will never happen as long as our elected officials in Washington are more interested in providing for the improved welfare for the select group of Israel who the foreign minister of Israel do not want to deport.
Let Israel be Israel and cut them lose. Not another penny for the greedy who will not allow poor woman and children to live with any healhcare.
emsnews
October 1st, 2010 at 4:17 pm
AIPAC owns Congress. Our votes are totally useless. We are overridden by AIPAC.
John_Mohammad
October 1st, 2010 at 5:58 pm
I want my 12 years of military service back- I didn't spend my youth in the Marines and the Army just to see America be turned into Israel's prison bi*ch. If the US wants Israel to toe the line, it's not that difficult to figure out- mention that our foreign aid checks might be delayed or suspended indefinitely and see how fast they change their stripes. I am decidedly not anti-Jewish (they are brothers and sisters of The Book, after all) but I am definitely against the state of Israel and it's political bullying. It would do the US a world of good to rid ourselves of this irritating millstone and be in a position to make new and better allies in the Middle East and the Muslim world in general. By this one act of de-friending Israel we will have accomplished a major step in regaining our national honor and pride.