New Israeli Settlement Plan Rankles U.S.

(CBS)  The United States and Israel remain very publicly at odds tonight over a plan for new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem. As CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips reports, the clash involves not just the policy itself, but the who, what, where, and when of how it was announced.

The Israeli cabinet met in Jerusalem Sunday. At the top of the agenda: damage control on the damage done to relations between Israel and its greatest ally and benefactor - the United States.

"We don't want clearly to insult the American government nor the vice president of America," said Israeli President Shimon Peres.

But "insult" is exactly the word that was used when Vice President Joe Biden was in Israel this past week trying once again to get talks started between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

While the vice president was building the delicate diplomatic house of cards in the hope of getting the two sides to even talk about talking, the Israelis drove a bulldozer through his efforts by announcing they'd build 1,600 new homes on the disputed land of East Jerusalem - land Israel has annexed, but which the Palestinians see as their future capital.

The Israelis later called the timing of the announcement an accident, but the damage had been done.

It was insulting not just to the vice president, who certainly didn't deserve that … but it was an insult to the United States," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said after the incident.

Relations between a right wing Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Obama administration have been strained from the start. And Israeli settlement construction on occupied Palestinian land is at heart of the problem.

Only lately has the U.S. begun to reinvest in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

"We just now have started proximity talks - that is, shuttle diplomacy - between the Palestinians and the Israelis and for this announcement to come at that time was very, very destructive," White House senior advisor David Axelrod said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Israel's clumsy announcement - accidental or not - moves that diplomacy back to square one.

[larrryshrine]

In this talk is good. We have leaders from all over the world gathering for a common goal: to limit nuclear proliferation. They are tackling big questions - Iran and North Korea among them. It is an exercise that we Americans could learn from, for here we cannot accomplish the simple goal of civil discourse. We have descended into a country of name calling, finger-pointing, posturing and pontification. But there seems to be no willingness for conservatives and liberals to work together - on any issue. The Republicans are threatening to filibuster Obama's Supreme Court pick - and he hasn't even chose anyone. I was told here that I was hated because I was a liberal. In any event, we have no political discourse in this great country of ours, and I lament that. We can learn something from these world leaders meeting now in Washington.

[fariborzzak]

Stop Israel USA support Israel 1 milion usd daily why? UN should do something against Israel.

[rockcutr]

Ahh the arrogance of the us in the affairs of Israel.
I think it is funny just how thin Hillarys and Bidens skin is. Get over your selves. Neither one of these two deserve any respect in either country. A second bananna and the hillbilly chick that never made big.
She may be good but aint no Golda Maier. A little trust that the Israelies have a better clue what is going on in their own country than suits and skirts from the most powerful 3rd world country, well, just do the math people. We do not play nice with others yet command respect. Our government that is. Still living by the olde rule, they have it, we want it and will kill ya to get it. The extended sand box wars,,,evidence enough??? Or did someone think this was a war on terrorism? Oh, too bad you must have been the "child GW left behind".

[starving1968-3]

by 50BMS13 March 15, 2010 12:31 AM EDT
Clemsson
You have a good point. Especially since Obama has not been very vocally supportive of Israel.






"Vocally supportive of Israel"?!?!?!

They act like Nazi Germany with the apartheid against their own citizens!!

We should consider them to be like Iran or North Korea - not an "ally"!!

[starving1968-3]

by bankersvox March 15, 2010 11:04 AM EDT
Hey, these houses were being built on Is property.






It became Israeli property when the Palestinians living their were evicted at gunpoint by the IDF, and their houses were bulldozed.

[bankersvox]

Hey, these houses were being built on Is property.

[NowBeWithThat]

VP Biden and SS Clinton have conveniently forgotten that Israel is a sovereign nation, so the 'insult' is unfounded and arrogant.

[U_S_Drug_Addict]

all this because a goat roper named Abraham couldnt keep faitful to his old wife..

[brianbwb2011]

Wow, a lot of pro-Israel suckers crawling from the base boards today. Doesn't occur to you rubes that we have given enough money for each Israeli citizen to have US$125,000.00, while you simpletons complain about helping Americans afford decent health care.

"On October 3, 2001, I.A.P. News reported that according to Israel Radio (in Hebrew) Kol Yisrael an acrimonious argument erupted during the Israeli cabinet weekly session last week between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his foreign Minister Shimon Peres. Peres warned Sharon that refusing to heed incessant American requests for a cease-fire with the Palestinians would endanger Israeli interests and "turn the US against us. "Sharon reportedly yelled at Peres, saying "don't worry about American pressure, we the Jewish people control America, and the Americans know it!"

Had any other country bragged such, you right wing ASPD-afflicted suckers would be ready to launch our entire nuclear arsenal at them.

What is even funnier is that the anti-Israel countries over there are receiving quite a bit of money from your core agenda guides, the kkk, and other ultra right wing ASPD sufferers. I have yet to hear any of you tricks condemning them. (www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/000237.html)

Your anti "Black" president fear is so transparent, that the more you try to disguise it as anything else, the more foolish you show yourselves to be. President Obama is in fact, the one person your ilk hates even more than Jews.

[patkelly03]

Actions speak louder than words. The fact is that Israel does not want peace with the Palestinians. It never has and continues to do everything it can to thwart the peace process such as announcing new settlements during the Vice President?s most recent visit. It wants land no matter who legally and rightfully owns it and no matter how many innocent lives must be lost in Israel's misguided notion to expand its state. The UN gave Israel its statehood. If Israel is going to act like a rogue nation in defiance of UN resolutions perhaps it is time the UN took it back.