WASHINGTON – Alaska's former governor, Sarah Palin, criticized US President Barack Obama's administration for its "unilateral" demands of Israel in its conflict with the Palestinians.
"The Obama Administration has decided to escalate, make unilateral demands of Israel, and threaten the very foundation of the US-Israel relationship," Palin wrote on her Facebook page.
"The Obama Administration needs to open its eyes and recognize that it is only Iran and her terrorist allies that benefit from this manufactured Israeli controversy," she said.
Meanwhile Israel's ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, issued a statement denying that US-Israeli relations were at risk overan announcement on Jewish construction in east Jerusalem during Vice President Joe Biden's visit last week.
"I was flagrantly misquoted about remarks I made in a confidential briefing this past Saturday. Recent events do not -- I repeat -- do not represent the lowest point in the relations between Israel and the United States," said the ambassador. "Though we differ on certain issues, our discussions are being conducted in an atmosphere of cooperation as befitting long-standing relations between allies," Oren said Tuesday night. "I am confident that we will overcome these differences shortly."
He was responding to reports saying he had declared relations at their lowest in 35 years. A Washington Post editorial based on Oren's reported concern for the situation claims that Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu would not benefit from the affair, as in the past every Israeli leader who clashed with the US administration found himself out of office.
The editorial also claims that much of the public in Israel supports a two-state solution and sees the settlers as a major liability for the state.