Obama: US Won’t Defend Israel if Peace Talks Fail

Warns Settlement Expansions Killing Process

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to the US, and to hear him talk he’s really going to put his foot down with President Obama on the issue of Iran diplomacy.

But President Obama’s comments going in suggest he’s going to focus on the crumbling Israel-Palestinian peace talks, warning that time is running out on Israel to salvage the deal.

Obama went on to say that if Netanyahu needed to come up with an “alternative approach” if he isn’t going to accept the US framework, adding that if the talks fail the US won’t be able to protect Israel from “international isolation and possible sanctions.”

The US has been pushing a “framework” by Secretary of State John Kerry, though both Israeli and Palestinian officials have repeatedly rejected the plan as vague and impractical.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.