Questions Still Surround The US Promises To Israel

Even a couple that marries out of strong true love still signs a Marriage document
Itamar Rabinowitz, former Israeli Ambassador to the US

Netanyahu insistence that in order for his cabinet to approve a 90-day settlement freeze, he must have everything Hillary Clinton offered in writing--seems to be causing headaches.

The demand itself is not a ploy. Ynet (Hebrew) quotes former Israeli ambassador to the US Zalman Shoval who says it really boils down to a question of trust:

You have to understand that Israeli trust in the American administration was already undermined in the beginning when they announced they would not recognize the Bush administration's commitments for building a bloc of settlements, and so on. In my opinion, it created an atmosphere unlike previous administrations where there is a question how much we really can believe and trust.

According to another Ynet (Hebrew) article, Netanyahu has already refused to sign one draft of the agreement, and is requesting further clarifications and refinements.

Apparently, it is still not clear what the general points of the US promise are. Among the individual promises mentioned are

• An American commitment to veto any initiative brought before the UN to bypass the peace negotiations
• A US commitment not to demand another freeze extension beyond the agreed upon 90 days
• The freeze would not include Jerusalem
• A guarantee that the borders issue will not be negotiated on separately.
• A promise that Israel will receive 20 F-35 aircraft worth $ 3 billion
• A promise by the US, for one year, to prevent the Palestinian Arabs from unilaterally establishing a state
  

Some officials are even implying that Netanyahu is demanding from the US a pledge that would take the return of Palestinian refugees to Israel off the table altogether.

Yet there is tension between the US and Israel on these points because Bibi's demand for a written promise is cutting down on Washington's wiggle-room:

The Americans, one official said, wanted to water down the agreement due to Palestinian opposition to a US commitment that it would not demand another freeze.

And then, just to give you an idea as to how little is really known about what is actually going on--you have this:

On the other hand, some senior Cabinet members claimed a deal has already been finalized. "This is just a spin; a trick to show that Netanyahu is fighting. You don't sit with (Hillary) Clinton for seven hours. These are just stories. Everything is signed and agreed upon," one of them said.

At some point the dust will settle.
Maybe.

Technorati Tag: Mideast Peace Talks.