US-Israel Ties May Suffer Over Rightist Govt

Sources: Netanyahu Will Tell Clinton He Won't Commit to Annapolis Process

by | Mar 2, 2009

Top Israeli officials are reportedly concerned that a potential rightist government led by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu would establish that the Annapolis peace process is dead, and this “will undoubtedly harm Israel’s relations with the US.”

An unnamed official close to Netanyahu said that when the would-be PM meets with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he will make it clear that “he will not commit to the Annapolis process and the two-state principle.”

The Palestinian Authority has already declared that, in light of the likely far-right nature of the next Israeli government, they too consider the peace process to be dead. Rather, they foresee “an extremist government that, in the best case, won’t go crazy building settlements and won’t escalate the security situation but will not bring about political progress during the upcoming period.”

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.

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