Jerusalem Officials Say Obama Administration is More Hostile Than Europe — ‘Not Even Half a Minute of Grace Was given

President Obama. Photo: CUFI

Israeli officials in Jerusalem said on Wednesday that the Obama Administration is acting in a manner that is more hostile to Israel than European governments, Israel’sWalla News reported.

As the tensions between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu were ratcheted up by the Administration this week, the officials in Jerusalem noted the relatively positive response from Europe to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s re-election last Tuesday.

Since the results of the election came in showing that Netanyahu’s Likud had won 30 seats in the Knesset, European governments, as well as representatives of the European Union, have been content to send laconic congratulatory messages to Netanyahu, according toWalla‘s report. Some of the communiques also emphasized the importance of the negotiation process with the Palestinian Authority in order to achieve a two-state solution.

The most prominent positive message came from Frederica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign minister, who phoned the Prime Minister and later issued a congratulatory statement. Mogherini urged Netanyahu to act to promote the two-state solution, stressing the importance of the matter to Europe, without “scolding” Netanyahu over his recent controversial statements on the matter.”The feeling is that the European Union is telling Netanyahu, ‘we’re giving you a chance’,” the officials told Walla.

By contrast, the officials noted, a diplomatic war has broken out between Jerusalem and Washington. “By contrast [to Europe], with the White House, not even half a minute of grace was given,” said an official close to the Prime Minister.

The fact that the European response to Netanyahu’s election victory is more favorable than the US response is an indication of the depth of the crisis with Washington, Walla said, considering that Europe’s position on Israel’s settlements has not relaxed at all