Washington, March 22: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Israel Monday to make “difficult but necessary choices” for peace with the Arabs.
In her a speech at the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, Clinton said the path for peace “requires all parties — including Israel — to make difficult but necessary choices,” adding it is important to “tell the truth” to friends when needed.
Clinton said Monday both hers and President Barack Obama’s support for Israeli security were “rock solid,” adding in her case it is personal.
“For President Obama, for me, and for this entire administration, our commitment to Israel’s security and Israel’s future is rock solid,” Clinton said.
“Guaranteeing Israel’s security is more than a policy position for me. It is a personal commitment that will never waiver,” she said.
She said that Israel’s settlement expansion undermines mutual trust, the peace talks and the US mediating role.
“New construction in East Jerusalem or the West Bank undermines mutual trust and endangers the proximity talks that are the first step toward the full negotiations that both sides want and need,” Clinton.
“It exposes daylight between Israel and the United States that others in the region could hope to exploit,” the chief US diplomat said.
“And it undermines America’s unique ability to play a role — an essential role, I might add — in the peace process,” she said.
Clinton also said Monday the United States will not “compromise its commitment” to prevent Iran getting a nuclear bomb, but sanctions that bite will take time.
It “is taking time to produce these sanctions… but we will not compromise our commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring these weapons,” she said.
Clinton also accused the Palestinians of inciting violence by mischaracterizing the rededication of a synagogue in Israeli-occupied Palestinian East Jerusalem.
“It is purely and simply an act of incitement,” she said.
“These provocations are wrong and must be condemned for needlessly inflaming tensions and imperiling prospects for a comprehensive peace,” she said.
—Agencies