Bloomberg News
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won't give in to pressure over Israel's rights in Jerusalem, an aide said, amid a deepening rift with the U.S. over Israeli construction in the city's contested eastern part.
The prime minister will continue to defend the security interests of Israelis and the rights of the Jewish people in Jerusalem, said the aide, who asked not to be identified because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly on this matter.
The official made the comments in response to an article in The Atlantic magazine by columnist Jeffrey Goldberg, who cited an unidentified senior U.S. official calling Netanyahu a 'chickensh-t' who's afraid to reach an accommodation with the Palestinians or Sunni Arab states.
Frictions between the two administrations deepened this week over Israeli plans to speed up construction of about 1,000 Israeli homes in Jewish areas of east Jerusalem, the sector of the holy city the Palestinians claim for a future capital. The U.S. State Department called the plan 'incompatible with the pursuit of peace.'
Israel captured east Jerusalem, along with the West Bank, from Jordan in 1967 and annexed it that year in a move that isn't internationally recognized.
Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid said Oct. 25 that ties between his country and the U.S. are in a 'crisis' after Israeli media reported that Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon was denied access to senior American officials, including Vice President Joe Biden. The decision was meant to signal displeasure with Ya'alon's criticism of U.S. efforts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement and Obama's policy on Iran, Ynet news website reported.
Commenting on the latest strains, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who opposes Palestinian statehood, said three things should guide his country's foreign policy: 'The first is ties with the United States. The second is ties with the United States. The third, and no less important, is ties with the United States,' he told Army Radio.
To contact the reporter on this story: Amy Teibel in Jerusalem at ateibel@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net Karl Maier
Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, October 29, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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