USA sharply criticizes Israel

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has sharply criticized Israel for its recent decision to broaden the construction of the Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem.

According to the latest reports, in a telephone talk with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Hillary Clinton said that the construction of homes for settlers in that part of the city, which the Palestinians want to declare the capital of their future state, would have a “very negative” impact on the relations between the USA and Israel.

Probably, it would be good to mention here that the construction of settlements on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem remains one of the main obstacles to the settlement of the Middle East conflict. The Palestinians regard these lands as their own territories and demand that Tel Aviv vacate their territories from the Israeli settlements. Three hundred thousand Israelis live on the West Bank and 180,000 – in East Jerusalem today.

Last September Israel agreed to freeze the construction of settlements for a 10-month period. However, Israel’s Interior Ministry reported that it had approved the plans for the construction of 1,600 homes in the Ramat Shlomo neighbourhood in East Jerusalem. And this was done exactly at a time, when U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Israel. The main objective of his visit to the Middle East was to re-activate the peace process in the region. U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East George Mitchell visited Israel ahead of Joe Biden. He persuaded the Israeli leader and the leader of the Palestinians to begin indirect contacts through Washington’s mediation.

After the publication of Israel’s plans for the construction of homes in East Jerusalem Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas refused to hold talks with the Israelis, and Joe Biden favoured his decision. According to Joe Biden, Tel Aviv’s unilateral actions undermine the Palestinians’ faith in the peace talks. The two sides should create the atmosphere to promote the talks, not the one that complicates them.

Under such conditions Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu requested Interior Minister Eli Yishai to suspend the “untimely” decision on the construction of settlements in the Ramat Shlomo neighbourhood. The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden had left Israel after Binyamin Netanyahu offered explanations for a diplomatic scandal, which overshadowed Biden’s visit and hampered even more the United States’ peacekeeping efforts. Of interest here is the fact that some U.S. officials tried to soften the blow against Netanyahu. They said that they “are absolutely sure” that the Israeli Prime Minister had received no information about the settlements in due time. Besides, they referred to the factions in the Israeli government, which are seeking to sabotage the peace process in the Middle East.