While the split between the Obama Administration and the Israeli government has been a top story for awhile, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough really raised eyebrows with an explicit call for Israel to end its military occupation of Palestine.
“An occupation that has lasted for 50 years must end,” McDonough said at the liberal Israeli Lobby J Street’s annual conference. It’s not a dramatic official policy shift, as the US has supported the two-state solution, at least on paper, for a long time.
Still and all, it’s not the sort of thing US officials would say in such a pointed manner, let alone at such a venue, as J Street has clashed openly with the Netanyahu government.
It’s a tit-for-tat move, a sign of US displeasure that the Israeli Premier openly denounced the two-state solution in last-minute campaigning last week. Netanyahu has since tried to backtrack, though McDonough today said it was clear the US “cannot simply pretend that these comments were never made.“
Well well, your move Bibi. Keep putting your foot in your mouth and someone will make you swallow it.
Is Israel democratic? Only those who have no clue what democracy is would ask such questions. Further to justify their not know what democracy is they continue the rhetoric with yet another stupid question, Not so clear they say. The question of democracy never been the israel or AIPAC, the other Israel/America government, the agenda of any elected Israeli government based on democracy, if it the democracy was the agenda they wouldn't steal the Palestinians lands and build millions people prison, they would have had respect for human rights and human dignity, they wouldn't committe war crime, they wouldn't kill babies, the elderly, they wouldent destroy hospitals and schools. The only social political idealogy ever existed and existes in Israel is the old and Neo fascism idealogy ruling the Zionist system, Israel is one of those countries where historically fascism under the name of Judaism been ruling, for those senators that supporting such regime, they themselves are not far from being part of that trend.
It's called democracy for the Chosen.
Right on Denis. Sounds like this guy should be Secretary of State.
"Military Occupation? – WE own that land"!. Ask any snake-handling Evangelist, and he will tell you that Joshua obtained the original mortgage.
It's still only words so far. And as Netanyahoo has proven, words are a means to an end – not necessarily fact. Do something that has a discernible result other than given the court reporters something to pass out to the gullible public. Then I'll believe the narrative….maybe.
Exactly, Obama is great when it comes to inspiring speeches or selective leaks. There will be real consequences for Israel when the US stops supporting it at every UN vote. But I doubt that will ever happen. Headline-grabbing slaps against Netayahu (who has really humiliated Obama lately) don't count.
i'll believe it when i see it. Just talk. Israel is supposed to go back to the 1967 borders. Is that what the administration is saying?
McDonough is just like his boss Obama: saying what his audience wants to hear and then doing either nothing or the opposite.
What's this about "fifty years"? The occupation is now in its sixty-eighth year, since the Nakba of 1947.