BLAMING THE JEWS ... AGAIN

The Obama administration has taken a more confrontational approach towards Israel since Kerry became secretary of state and blames the Israelis for the collapse of peace negotiations

Throughout history, when all else fails, blame the Jews. That’s what the Obama administration is doing now after the collapse of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

From Newsmax:

One official, believed to be U.S. special envoy Martin Indyk, claimed that “the primary sabotage” to peace efforts came from Israeli settlements, saying that “Palestinians don’t believe that Israel really intends to let them found a state.”

The U.S. official bluntly informed Yediot Aharanot reporter Nahum Barnea: “The Palestinians are tired of the status quo. They will get their state in the end – whether through violence or by turning to international organizations” to pressure Israel.

In blaming Israel for the collapse of the negotiations, the official complained about the building of Jewish “settlements.” But supporters of Israel counter that these “settlements” are not actually new towns but homes in existing communities “being built in exactly the same places Abbas supposedly had conceded would stay in Israel,” writes Commentary’s Jonathan Tobin.

Tobin points to the example of Gilo, which U.S. officials portray as the “final straw” in causing Abbas to break off the negotiations. Gilo is a 40-year-old Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem certain to remain part of Israel even if a peace accord were reached.

“The truth is Abbas never had any genuine interest in peace and fled the talks the first chance he got,” Tobin contends. “The Americans are so invested in Abbas’ shaky credibility as a peacemaker that they were prepared to swallow any excuse from him.”

Since Kerry became secretary of state last year, the Obama administration has taken a more confrontational approach towards Israel, warning it repeatedly of dire consequences if negotiations fail.

During one trip to the region in early November, Kerry warned that “chaos” could occur, adding: “Does Israel want a third intifada?"

The Jerusalem Post reported that on the same trip, Kerry also spoke of “the de-legitimization of Israel” and expressed concern that “we may wind up with a [Palestinian leadership] that is committed to violence” without an agreement.

In March, President Obama warned Israel that Washington would have limited ability to protect Israel from "international fallout" if there was "continued aggressive settlement construction." That was an apparent reference to the Palestinians' threat to pursue Israel at the International Criminal Court, the BBC reported.

And last month, Kerry said Israel could become an "apartheid state" if it failed to reach an agreement with the Palestinians.