Israelis Distrust Obama’s Resolve on Iranian Nukes, Syrian WeaponsMonday, 18 Mar 2013 President Barack Obama is due to make his first official visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories this week, looking to improve ties after sometimes rocky relations with both sides during his first term in office. Despite the fact that Obama oversaw ever-closer military ties between the two nations, he has never won the affection of ordinary Israelis, who resented the fact that he did not visit their country in his first term, but did go to Egypt and Turkey. A poll in the Maariv daily newspaper on March 15 said 68 percent of Israelis had an unfavorable or hostile attitude toward Obama, while just 10 percent said they liked him. Obama is not expected to arrive with any new Palestinian peace initiative and will spend most of his time in Israel, the closest U.S. ally in the Middle East, where he will make a keynote speech to hundreds of students. The American president will hold separate talks with both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who finally formed a new coalition on Friday after a January election that weakened his grip on government. Here are some of the issues that are likely to dominate the March 20-22 visit: Iran and the Bomb Netanyahu last year set a "red line" for Iran's nuclear program,
saying the Islamic Republic should not be allowed to obtain 240 kg
(530 pounds) of 20-percent enriched uranium. Obama said on March 14 that Iran was still more than a year away from developing a nuclear weapon and repeated his assurance to Israel that military force remained a U.S. option. Israeli officials, who see Iran's nuclear advances as an existential threat, make no secret of the fact that they would prefer to see the U.S. military, with its greater firepower, tackle Iran's far-flung atomic installations. Tehran is improving its defenses and Israel worries that sooner rather than later Israeli warplanes will not be able to destroy this infrastructure. This would mean its own military option would be off the table, leaving Israel utterly reliant on Washington. The White House believes Israelis have yet to reach a consensus on how to confront Iran, according to a source familiar with the administration's thinking, who added that Obama would stress the need for patience with sanctions and diplomacy. U.S. officials also hope a high-profile recommitment to Israel's security will increase public pressure on Netanyahu to avoid aggravating the situation while negotiations continue. No "Grand Peace Plan" The mood was very different at the start of his first term, when Obama said peace between Israelis and Palestinians was a top priority. His 2009 "new beginning" speech in Cairo raised Palestinian hopes of establishing a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War. Obama revived direct peace talks in 2010, but they collapsed soon afterward when Netanyahu refused to bow to Palestinian demands to extend a partial freeze on settlement building. Both the Palestinians and Israelis felt let down by Obama, for very different reasons. The Israelis begrudged the fact that at the start of his first term, he publicly told Israel to halt all Jewish settlement-building, saying this put unfair pressure on Netanyahu to make unilateral concessions. The Palestinians were furious when Obama then backed away from his demand over settlement construction, saying the peace talks were doomed unless Washington twisted Israel's arm. Both sides say that without a serious U.S. engagement, the chances of a deal are close to zero. However, few U.S. analysts expect Obama to expend much political capital on an elusive peace accord that has tied up so many of his predecessors. Netanyahu's new government includes former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni, who will take charge of pursuing peace with the Palestinians. But the presence of fiercely pro-settler elements in the coalition, including within the prime minister's own Likud party, suggests a breakthrough is unlikely. Settlement Expansion Most major powers regard settlements as illegal under international law and an impediment to peace. The Israelis claim historical and biblical ties to the West Bank and East Jerusalem, home to some 500,000 settlers, and dispute their building in these areas is illegal. All Israeli leaders since 1967 have backed the settlement movement, but Netanyahu has been especially supportive. Yuval Steinitz, who was replaced as finance minister last Friday, said in November the government had quietly doubled the portion of the national budget dedicated to West Bank settlements. In December and January, Israel announced plans to build more than 11,000 new houses on land Palestinians want for a future state. Pro-settler politicians have landed several top jobs in the new Netanyahu government, including the housing minister, who has pledged to keep on building. Many Western diplomats based in Jerusalem privately question whether the so-called two-state solution of an independent Israel living alongside an independent Palestine is still viable given the never-ending expansion of settlement blocs. Israel's press says Obama has pointedly not invited students from a university in the West Bank settlement of Ariel to attend a speech he is meant to give in Jerusalem this week. Relations between Obama, 51, and Netanyahu, 63, have been marked by slights, mutual suspicion, and outright antipathy. Supporters of Netanyahu accuse Obama of trying to browbeat Israel into making concessions to the Palestinians, particularly over the issue of settlements. Obama supporters say Netanyahu interfered in the 2012 presidential election, overtly backing Republican challenger Mitt Romney. In one Oval Office meeting in 2011, Netanyahu gave Obama a public lecture on Jewish history. A year later, when the Israeli leader visited the United States, Obama said he was too busy to meet him. They will try to reset their relationship this week. Annual U.S. military aid to Israel is put at $3 billion.Editor's Note: Obama ‘Blunder’ Spawns Massive Profit Opportunity Upheaval Causes Friction
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