Washington, March 18: President Barack Obama said that Israeli plans to build more homes near East Jerusalem were not helpful for the Middle East peace process, but he said the issue had not led to a crisis with one of the United States’ closest allies.
“Israel’s one of our closest allies, and we and the Israeli people have a special bond that’s not going to go away,” Obama said in an interview Special Report with Bret Baier.
“But friends are going to disagree sometimes,” Obama said.
Israel touched off a spat with the Obama administration last week when it announced during a visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden that it planned to build 1,600 more homes for Jews near East Jerusalem, angering Palestinians.
—–Agencies