Obama: Israel losing credibility over Netanyahu’s opposition to Palestinian statehood

Obama says Israel is losing “credibility” over Netanyahu’s stance on the creation of a Palestinian state.

US President Barack Obama says Israel is losing “credibility” among the international community over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stance on the creation of a Palestinian state.

Obama also warned that his administration is reevaluating the long-standing US diplomatic support of Israel at the United Nations over the Palestine issue.

In an interview at the White House with Israel’s Channel Two television broadcast on Tuesday, the US president acknowledged that a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians in unlikely in the near future due to Netanyahu’s policies.

"I don't see the likelihood of a framework agreement," Obama said, adding that Netanyahu's position "has so many caveats, so many conditions that it is not realistic to think that those conditions would be met at any time in the near future.

"So the danger is that Israel as a whole loses credibility. Already, the international community does not believe that Israel is serious about a two-state solution."

On the eve of his March 17 election to a fourth term, Netanyahu said there would be no Palestinian state if he was reelected as prime minister.

Netanyahu has attempted to back-pedal from those remarks but his peace overtures have met with skepticism from Obama and Western diplomats, as well as the Palestinians.

President Obama speaks during an interview at the White House with Israel’s Channel Two television.

The last round of the so-called peace talks sponsored by the US stalled over a year ago, with Palestinians blaming Israel’s illegal settlement-building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds, among the territories where they seek an independent state.

Obama said now was the time for a reevaluation of "how we approach defending Israel on the international stage around the Palestinian issue."

Asked whether US vetoes in favor of Israel would continue at the UN, Obama sounded cautious.

"Well, here's the challenge. If in fact there is no prospect of an actual peace process, if nobody believes there is a peace process, then it becomes more difficult to argue with those who are concerned about settlement construction, those who are concerned about the current situation," he said.

Relations between the United States and Israel have been strained since Obama took office in 2009.

The Obama administration has repeatedly criticized the Zionist regime for expanding the settlement projects in the occupied Palestinian territories.

AHT/AGB


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