When Obama gets tired of Netanyahu

Wickama · Oct 30, 2014

In What seems to be a fatigue by American officials on their relationship with Israel, one of them called Prime minister of Israel (Benjamin Netanyahu-Bibi) "chicken shit". In the past, American officials were unlikely to be heard giving such descriptions for Israel leaders.

Is this a turning point in the relations of the two allies? Here is a small portion of the article in question.

An anonymous U.S. official's reported description of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "chickenshit," or worthless coward, drew a sharp response on Wednesday from the Israeli leader - no stranger to acrimony with the Obama administration.

The American broadside, in an interview in The Atlantic magazine, followed a month of heated exchanges between the Netanyahu government and Washington over settlement building in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, which Palestinians seek as the capital of a future state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"The thing about Bibi is, he's a chickenshit," the unidentified official was quoted as saying, using Netanyahu's nickname and a slang insult certain to redden the ears of the U.S.-educated former commando.

"The good thing about Netanyahu is that he's scared to launch wars," the official said, in apparent reference to past hints of possible Israeli military action against Iran's nuclear program. "The bad thing about him is that he won't do anything to reach an accommodation with the Palestinians or with the Sunni Arab states."

Netanyahu, the official was reported to have said, is interested only in "protecting himself from political defeat ... He's got no guts."

Israeli leaders usually do not respond to comments by unidentified officials. But Netanyahu addressed those remarks directly in opening a memorial ceremony in parliament for an Israeli cabinet minister assassinated by a Palestinian in 2001.

"Our supreme interests, chiefly the security and unity of Jerusalem, are not the main concern of those anonymous officials who attack us and me personally, as the assault on me comes only because I defend the State of Israel," Netanyahu said.

"...Despite all of the attacks I suffer, I will continue to defend our country. I will continue to defend the citizens of Israel," he said.

Such pledges by Netanyahu have resonated among Israeli voters, even amid fears his strained relations with U.S. President Barack Obama could ultimately weaken support from Israel's main diplomatic ally and arms provider.

Some pundits predict an Israeli election in 2015, two years early, speculation seemingly supported by the absence of any strong challenger to the Likud party leader and increasingly vocal challenges to his policies from senior ministers to the left and right of him within the coalition government.

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, whose ultranationalist Jewish Home party belongs to the coalition but who has had testy relations with Netanyahu, defended him on Facebook.

"The prime minister of Israel is not a private person. He is the leader of the Jewish state and the entire Jewish people. Cursing the prime minister and calling him names is an insult not just to him but to the millions of Israeli citizens and Jews across the globe," he wrote.

Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog sounded a more critical note, telling Channel Two television: "Netanyahu is acting like a political pyromaniac, and he has brought our relations with the United States to an unprecedented low."

FRICTION

In a series of recent speeches widely seen in Israel as setting the stage for a possible poll, Netanyahu has highlighted growing security concerns in the wake of the July-August war with Hamas in Gaza and regional unrest that has brought Islamist militants to Israel's northern border with Syria.

Israel also worries that U.S.-led world powers will agree to what it deems insufficient curbs on the nuclear program of its arch-foe, Iran, in talks with a looming Nov 24 deadline.

Fears of a possible new Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, have been stoked in Israel by now-daily rock-throwing by Palestinians in Jerusalem amid Muslim fears of an end to an Israeli de facto ban on Jewish worship at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in the holy city where Biblical temples once stood.

Netanyahu has pledged to preserve the "status quo" at the site, a commitment Palestinian leaders view with suspicion.

But drawing Palestinian outrage and a State Department accusation that Israel was distancing peace, Netanyahu pledged on Monday to fast-track plans for 1,000 new settler homes in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem.

Netanyahu described such criticism as being "detached from reality," saying Jews had a right to live anywhere in Jerusalem, regarded by Israel as its united capital - a claim not internationally recognized.

Most countries and the World Court deem the settlements Israel has built in areas captured in a 1967 war to be illegal. Israel disputes this, and has settled 500,000 Jews in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, among 2.4 million Palestinians.

Source: huffingtonpost

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/29/israel-netanyahu-chickenshit_n_6068088.html

BAK · Oct 30, 2014

Uhusiano wa US na Israel kwa sasa umedorora sana kutokana na kiburi cha Netanyahu kudharau maamuzi mbali mbali ambayo Serikali ya Obama ingependa yafanywe. Na kama Hillary Clinton atamrithi Obama ambaye naye na Bill Clinton hawawivi chungu kimoja na Netanyahu basi uhusiano huo utaendelea kulegalega kwa miaka mingine minne kama siyo minane.

Eiyer · Oct 30, 2014

I don't trust this people an their media!

Elungata · Oct 30, 2014

Eiyer said:
I don't trust this people an their media!

Hiyo ndo habari ya mjini kwa sasa.

Eiyer · Oct 30, 2014

Elungata said:
Hiyo ndo habari ya mjini kwa sasa.

Hiyo ipi?

Ntuzu · Oct 30, 2014

BAK said:
Uhusiano wa US na Israel kwa sasa umedorora sana kutokana na kiburi cha Netanyahu kudharau maamuzi mbali mbali ambayo Serikali ya Obama ingependa yafanywe. Na kama Hillary Clinton atamrithi Obama ambaye naye na Bill Clinton hawawivi chungu kimoja na Netanyahu basi uhusiano huo utaendelea kulegalega kwa miaka mingine minne kama siyo minane.

Hawa wanajuana Vzr sn..... Nyuma ya pazia wanafanya Kz pamoja Vzr ktk kila jambo lkn mbele ya pazia wanajifanya hawako pamoja....! Wanafiki wakubwa hawa.

BAK · Oct 30, 2014

Hakuna kujuana kokote uhusiano uko at the lowest point in years, na baadhi ya Wamarekani wameshaanza kuhoji umuhimu wa kuendelea kuwapa hawa jamaa mabilioni ya pesa kila mwaka. Kuhoji huku kama kutapata sauti nyingi na wengi kupinga upewaji wa mabilioni hayo basi Israel inaweza kabisa kuwa katika hali ngumu sana kiuchumi.

Ntuzu said:
Hawa wanajuana Vzr sn..... Nyuma ya pazia wanafanya Kz pamoja Vzr ktk kila jambo lkn mbele ya pazia wanajifanya hawako pamoja....! Wanafiki wakubwa hawa.

BAK · Oct 30, 2014

White House snubs Israeli official

By Elise Labott, CNN Global Affairs Correspondent

updated 10:10 AM EDT, Wed October 29, 2014

Washington (CNN) -- Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon traveled to Washington last week expecting to see top Obama administration officials.
Instead, he found himself with a lot of time on his hands.
The White House denied him meetings with Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice. Senior administration officials attributed the snub to numerous negative comments Ya'alon made earlier this year criticizing the administration in general and Kerry in particular.
"It shouldn't have been a surprise given some of his comments," a senior administration official said about Ya'alon's visit. "We give you $1.3 billion of aid and you are dumping on us. None of our friends have been disrespectful to the extent of Israel."
He was granted meetings with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Still, the episode offers a startling illustration of how badly relations have deteriorated between the U.S. and Israel -- long-term allies -- because of irritation with Ya'alon. It also reflects years of pent-up frustration in the White House over Israel's role in the Middle East peace process.
READ: Kerry's call to arms on Ebola
In January, the Obama administration -- and indeed many of Ya'alon's fellow Israeli politicians -- were apoplectic when he was quoted in Israeli media calling Kerry "obsessive and messianic," in his efforts to forge a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians. Ya'alon added he hoped Kerry "gets a Nobel Prize and leaves us alone."
Ya'alon apologized after protests by Washington and a strong rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But tensions grew again in March, when Ya'alon harshly criticized the way the Obama administration was dealing with Iran, saying the president was trying to leave the issue for his successor to deal with.
David Makovsky, an advisor to former US peace envoy Martin Indyk who now works at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that while he does not believe Israel is currently trying to accentuate its differences with the United States, the resentments on both sides are bubbling over.
"It's an accumulation of baggage that each side has carried for some time," Makovsky said "What I see is the wear and tear of these six years working together where the sum of the problems becomes greater than the parts on policy. It's sad."
In addition to the public dissing of Kerry, who spent the better part of a year in a failed effort to broker a framework agreement between Israelis and Palestinians, officials said Israel's inflexibility on security arrangements proposed for the plan by General John Allen further aggravated the already strained ties.
READ: Children pay with their lives in Palestinian-Israeli tensions
But the biggest culprit, the officials said, is continued Israeli settlement construction in defiance of continued American objections. Washington has warned Israel against such unilateral moves that could prejudice the outcome of a future peace deal.
The row over settlements turned ugly last month after Netanyahu left Washington amid news of settlement expansion in the West Bank. When the prime minister said that U.S. objections to Israeli settlement activity went against American values, the White House slapped him down, calling the criticism "odd."
"It's clear how American values dictate or at least guide our thinking," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
On Monday, Netanyahu announced Israel would fast-track planning for more than 1,000 new apartments in East Jerusalem, prompting swift and strong condemnation from the State Department, which said it was "deeply concerned" by the announcement.

"If Israel wants to live in a peaceful society, they need to take steps that will reduce tensions," said State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki. "Moving forward with this sort of action would be incompatible with the pursuit of peace."

In a phone call this weekend, Kerry warned Netanyahu against going ahead with the planned settlement units. He also pressed the prime minister to speed up an investigation of last week's killing of a Palestinian American teen by Israeli forces.

"He told him it can't be business as usual where these things drag on and then don't say anything," one U.S. official said.
Several U.S. officials said a growing frustration with Israel on a host of issues has prompted a discussion within the administration about how to best to express it
"We are in the process of re-evaluating exactly that question," one senior administration official said, adding "various options are being drafted."
The tension comes as several important decision points related to Israel are coming to a head. The U.S. must decide how it will respond to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's proposal to the United Nations to declare a Palestinian state, something Israel is adamantly opposed to but an idea that has growing support in Europe. Washington must also weigh how much effort to expend on dissuading its European allies from taking tougher measures against Israel such as boycotting products made in settlements or sanctioning Israeli companies that do business in what is considered occupied territory.
"There is a ton the U.S. does behind the scenes," another senior administration official said. "We bail them out of everything - pushing back the Europeans, pushing back at the UN. We are their last good friend in the world."
The officials, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak with candor, stressed that the US remains fully committed to Israel's security and all policy decisions are made from that starting point. But they add that the unequivocal political support the U.S. expends to Israel may not always be a given.

"We will never, ever stop funding for Iron Dome or withhold anything that is related in any way to their security, but the question is, how much do we continue to do politically?" an official said. "It is easy to do less on that front while making sure it doesn't impact our security relationship."

Mtangoo · Oct 30, 2014

Ntuzu said:
Hawa wanajuana Vzr sn..... Nyuma ya pazia wanafanya Kz pamoja Vzr ktk kila jambo lkn mbele ya pazia wanajifanya hawako pamoja....! Wanafiki wakubwa hawa.

Huwa unahudhuria mikutano ya nyuma ya pazia?

Mtangoo · Oct 30, 2014

Kama umefuatilia misimamo ya utawala wa Obama hakuna cha kushangaza.
Yote haya ni ya kawaida.

Ntuzu · Oct 30, 2014

Stefano Mtangoo said:
Huwa unahudhuria mikutano ya nyuma ya pazia?

Kwa Upande wanakuja kutoa misaada kupitia mashirika Yao na taasisi za kimataifa na Upande mwingine wachochea machafuko kupitia agenda zao za siri na kuuza silaha ktk mizozo..... Hili haliwezi kwenda sawa na swala la Obama na Netanyahu?

Asante mkuu.

Wickama · Oct 30, 2014

BAK said:
On Monday, Netanyahu announced Israel would fast-track planning for more than 1,000 new apartments in East Jerusalem, prompting swift and strong condemnation from the State Department, which said it was "deeply concerned" by the announcement.

It seems that the doings of Israel slowly move the entire HOLY LAND towards the one-state solution which the son of the late Muammar Gaddafi had also proposed. Despite Israel's objection to the proposal, it seems to me Israel has already swallowed so much land from Palestine, to the extent the remaining pieces can not make a viable state for Palestine

Isratin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ntuzu · Oct 30, 2014

BAK said:
Hakuna kujuana kokote uhusiano uko at the lowest point in years, na baadhi ya Wamarekani wameshaanza kuhoji umuhimu wa kuendelea kuwapa hawa jamaa mabilioni ya pesa kila mwaka. Kuhoji huku kama kutapata sauti nyingi na wengi kupinga upewaji wa mabilioni hayo basi Israel inaweza kabisa kuwa katika hali ngumu sana kiuchumi.

Sasa km Wamarekani wanasisitiza kwamba hawatojitoa kwa Israel ktk maswala ya usalama huoni km hayo mambo mengine ni zuga tu za utawala wa Obama lkn kwa Upande mwingine ni washirika wakubwa?

NGUVUMOJA · Oct 30, 2014

Kweli kuna dalili za kuzorota kwa maelewano. Waswahili husema "ulimi huponza kichwa"

Mtangoo · Oct 31, 2014

Ntuzu said:
Kwa Upande wanakuja kutoa misaada kupitia mashirika Yao na taasisi za kimataifa na Upande mwingine wachochea machafuko kupitia agenda zao za siri na kuuza silaha ktk mizozo..... Hili haliwezi kwenda sawa na swala la Obama na Netanyahu?

Asante mkuu.

Hujajibu swali langu lwa kwanza ambalo na kwenye hili pia lina apply

Sijali · Oct 31, 2014

All hype. USA is in fact a colony of Israel. Most Americans know this, as Ariel Sharon once said . In a few days there will be a vote in the UNSC.....we will see!

When Obama gets tired of Netanyahu

Wickama

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