Israel Absorbs Twin Rebukes From Top Allies

[TomCADem]

Source: NY Times

WASHINGTON — Israel found itself at odds with its two most stalwart allies on Tuesday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu culminated a tense visit to Washington with a face-to-face session with President Obama that apparently failed to resolve the impasse between the two over a comprehensive Middle East peace plan.

Even as Mr. Netanyahu met with Mr. Obama at a session during which the White House pointedly withheld the usual trappings of a visit by the head of a government, Israel’s other ally, Britain, expelled an Israeli diplomat. It was a rare move by a friendly government, meant as a rebuke for what appeared to be the use of a dozen fake British passports by assassins suspected of being Israeli agents in the killing of a Hamas official in Dubai.

“Such misuse of British passports is intolerable,” the British foreign secretary, David Miliband, said in the House of Commons. “The fact that this was done by a country which is a friend only adds insult to injury.”

The British decision was the latest turn in Israel’s recent frictions with its closest allies. It comes as Mr. Netanyahu, struggling to balance diplomacy with a fractious domestic political alliance that put him in power, has seen a cooling of ties with the United States after his government’s decision this month to approve new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem. While White House officials said that they were seeking to put the two weeks of public fighting behind them, several administration officials acknowledged that a larger confrontation was looming as Mr. Obama seeks to make good on his promise to pursue a peace plan between Israelis and Palestinians.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/world/middleeast/24diplo.html

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Seems like Netanyahu is Israel's George Bush. Now, Obama/Clinton need to stop acting like Tony Blair.

[defendandprotect]

1. Well, if this means Obama is ending the "wink-wink" given by Bush to their warmongering....

I'm thrilled!!!

However, I just saw Sen. Schumer on C-span today and didn't catch all of it

but he seemed to be very upset that there might be some shift in support for

Israel --

Well, my question is WHICH ISRAEL ....

Right wing militaristic Israel doing the dirty work of the US/right wing/CIA in ME --

or Peace-loving Israel which has so bravely and courageously at times arisen to

show us that there can be peaceful negotiation and PEACE and more fair treatment of

their "enemies."

[MindandSoul]

2. And for what I've read. . .the Israeli people are actually a lot more

positive towards Obama than towards their own Prime Minister!

[TomCADem]

3. Like Bush, Bibi Is Probably Holding On To Power...

...By trying to constantly keep Israelis in a state of fear even as his country becomes increasingly isolated.

[ro1942]

4. Time to become a citizen of the world

it's not all about just your country. The biggest enemy of the USA and Israel is self love.