Obama Flays Israel’s East Jerusalem Project
US President Barack Obama has flayed Israel’s East Jerusalem project for building homes and termed it as ‘non helpful’ to Israeli-Arab peace efforts, Voice of America reported.
In an interview with Fox News, Obama said that US and Israel disagree on move regarding carrying forward Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, said report.
However, the president denied any crisis in US-Israel relations and said that people of the two countries had a ‘special bond that is not going to go away’, reports said.
It may be mentioned that Israel announced a project for construction of 1,600 homes in east Jerusalem last week when US Vice-President Joe Biden was on a visit to the region, leading to criticism by senior US officials.
Palestinians claim the area as a future capital and want the project canceled before entering indirect peace talks with Israel through US mediators.
Obama said in the interview that his administration also flayed riots by Palestinians in east Jerusalem last week in which demonstrators protested Israel’s rededication of a historic synagogue, said report.
The synagogue is located near Muslim shrines in east Jerusalem’s Old City.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take unspecified steps to revive peace efforts.
US officials said Wednesday that Clinton was waiting for Netanyahu to call her with Israel’s response.
