Special Relationship Unchanged

July 20, 2010
“Even if we still need the billions in military aid, the markets, and the ammunition provided by the U.S., and even if our international isolation is growing—we can no longer rely on U.S. support. …"Obama presses the State of Israel to freeze all construction in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, and to accept dictates that will lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state in the heart of the country. In exchange he will be willing to provide us with guarantees on safeguarding our security and our technological advantage, and on demilitarizing the Palestinian state. Yet why should anyone in Israel be willing to assume existential risks while relying on the pledge of U.S. president who betrayed and denied all the pledges made by his predecessors, while also forgetting his own explicit commitments?”
—Aryeh Eldad, member of Israeli Knesset (National Union), “Time for Reassessment,” YNet, July 6, 2010
  • “I can tell you there is a consistent line. And all U.S. presidents, from everyone that I met including President Obama, share what the president called the basic bedrock of this unbreakable bond between Israel and the United States.

    “Israeli prime ministers are also different. Each one of us is different. But we all value the relationship with the United States enormously. Enormously. I think America has no better friend and ally than Israel in the world, and I'm sure that Israel has no better friend and ally than the United States.”
    —Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel, interview, Fox News Sunday, July 11, 2010
     


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    “We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010

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