For the third time this year, the Israeli government has announced plans for the construction of additional illegal settlements in the occupied west bank when its leader, Benyamin Netanyahu, was scheduled to meet the United State president or vice president:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
The first time was when Joe Biden visited Israel. The second time was when Netanyahu was in the U.S. for a meeting with Obama. Now, it is when Netanyahu is in Washington for meetings with both Obama and Biden.
New embarrassment threatened to cast a cloud over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's latest U.S. trip Monday as Israeli authorities approved construction of over 1,000 Jewish homes beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem.
Ruth Yosef, who chairs the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee, published over the weekend details of a program that will allow 930 housing units to be built in the Har Homa C area, with another 48 units in Har Homa B.
An additional 320 units are planned for Ramot, also beyond the Green Line.
The news coincided with a trip to the United States by Netanyahu, which included a meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.
http://www.haaretz.com/...
However, the embarassment is not Netanyahu's. He clearly revels in rubbing the Obama administration's face in it. Showing its political impotency and cowardice. Obama started out threatening consquences for Israeli's colonization policies. As with so many other issues, he soon backdowned. Now, emboldened with an even more pro-Israeli congress (if that's possible), Netanyahu will continue to strengthen himself at home by humilitating the Obama administration. And the administration continues to oblige him:
During Biden's meeting with Netanyahu on Sunday, the vice president raised the subject of the diplomatic row. The vice president said that he and his old friend Bibi (Netanyahu’s nickname) had talked the matter through while sitting in Netanayhu’s home. Disagreements between Jerusalem and Washington "have only been tactical in nature," he said, adding that the ties between the two countries are "literally unbreakable."
Pathetic. Which is a pretty good word to describe the Obama administration's entire policy towards the I/P conflict.