Clinton slams Israel on housing announcement

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 20 mins ago
 
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday delivered a stinging rebuke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his government's announcement this week of new Jewish housing in East Jerusalem.

The State Department said Clinton spoke to Netanyahu by phone to express U.S. frustration with Tuesday's announcement that cast a pall over a visit to Israel by Vice President Joe Biden. A State spokesman said the Israeli move has endangered indirect peace talks with the Palestinians that the Obama administration had announced just a day earlier.

Clinton called "to make clear that the United States considered the announcement to be a deeply negative signal about Israel's approach to the bilateral relationship and counter to the spirit of the vice president's trip," department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters.

The harsh criticism of America's closest Mideast ally and questions about its commitment to the U.S.-Israeli relationship followed equally blunt condemnation of the housing announcement from the White House and Biden himself.

It also comes ahead of a trip to the region by U.S. Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell and a meeting in Moscow next week of senior officials from the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers.

The Israeli announcement took the U.S. by surprise and enraged Palestinians and Arab states, jeopardizing indirect peace talks Mitchell is to mediate

"The secretary said she could not understand how this happened, particularly in light of the United States' strong commitment to Israel's security and she made clear that the Israeli government needed to demonstrate not just through words but through specific actions that they are committed to this relationship and to the peace process," he said.

Crowley stressed that the United States strongly objected to both the content and timing of the announcement and said Clinton had "reinforced that this action had undermined trust and confidence in the peace process and in America's interests."

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I bet she was none too nice about it........good job.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

And Israel now says f off........again.......when do we really put our foot down?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Why don't we just decrease our financial support for Israel by around $1 billion and see how they react? I feel like if we actually back up our words then they would actually stop building these new, ridiculous settlements.

Substantially decreasing financial support would do the job and I'm in favor of it, but Congress won't let that happen large scale.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Why don't we just decrease our financial support for Israel by around $1 billion and see how they react? I feel like if we actually back up our words then they would actually stop building these new, ridiculous settlements.

Substantially decreasing financial support would do the job and I'm in favor of it, but Congress won't let that happen large scale.

Didn't Bush Sr. threaten to cut off aid to Israel? That accomplished some results.

From a January 2010 article in the Christian Science Monitor:

"President Bush and loan guarantees

In late 1990, Israel requested $10 billion in loan guarantees from the US, mostly to finance the resettlement of Soviet Jews in the country. In 1991, then President George H. W. Bush asked Congress to delay action on the loan guarantee as he sought to arrange an Arab-Israeli peace conference. In early 1992, then-Secretary of State James Baker said the president would not approve the loan guarantees unless Israel promised to halt settlement expansion. Then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin announced a settlement freeze in July of 1992 and the guarantee program was approved that October. "

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Hillary is still beholden to Israel. We don't have anyone is power who will stand up to Israel they even Sharon said that they control America.

How so?