Obama tentacles on dissolution of Netanyahu's gov't?

Source says U.S. officials met with senior Israeli politician

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

TEL AVIV – Do the Obama administration’s tentacles extend to the crisis that led to the dissolution Tuesday of Israel’s parliament and the scheduling of early elections that could replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?

Representatives of the Obama administration held meetings with a senior politician here in which the U.S. officials brought up the possibility of replacing Netanyahu as prime minister, according to an informed Jerusalem diplomatic source.
Following months of internal bickering, Netanyahu fired centrist and leftist members of his coalition Tuesday and set March 17 as the date for new national elections.
The decision came after dismissed finance minister Yair Lapid and dismissed justice minister Tzipi Livni repeatedly accused Netanyahu of distancing himself from the U.S. and bringing relations with Israel’s most important ally to a crisis point.
Lapid and Livni took issue with Netanyahu’s decisions to expand Jewish communities in eastern Jerusalem, which they said helped to bring the relationship with the Obama administration to the brink.
In October, Israel’s Ynet news website reported a request by Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon to meet with Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice during his visit to Washington had been denied by the White House.
The reported move is highly unusual and was seen as a snub of Netanyahu’s government. It helped to set off a firestorm against Netanyahu in Israel, with Livni and Lapid leading the charge.
Also in October, the U.S. used uncharacteristically harsh language to oppose a plan for Israel to build 2,610 new homes on empty lots in Givat Hamatos, a Jerusalem neighborhood in the eastern section of the city where Palestinians want to build a future state.


Immediately following a meeting between Netanyahu and President Obama in October, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki and White House spokesman Josh Earnest released nearly identical statements slamming the construction.
They said the housing plans could distance Israel from its “closest allies,” a clear euphemism for the U.S.
“This step is contrary to Israel’s stated goal, and it would send a very troubling message if they proceed with tenders or construction,” Psaki said.
She claimed the new housing project will “call into question Israel’s ultimate commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement.”
“This development will only draw condemnation from the international community, distance Israel from even its closest allies, poison the atmosphere not only with the Palestinians but also with the very Arab governments with which Prime Minister Netanyahu said he wanted to build relations,” Psaki said.
White House spokesman Earnest stated the development “will only draw condemnation from the international community.”
“It also would call into question Israel’s ultimate commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians,” he said.
Netanyahu, however, said at the time that he was “baffled” by the U.S. criticism, stating the American position “doesn’t really reflect American values.”
“It’s against the American values. And it doesn’t bode well for peace,” he said. “The idea that we’d have this ethnic purification as a condition for peace; I think it’s anti-peace.
“What we are being criticized for is that some Jewish residents of Jerusalem bought apartments legally from Arabs in a predominately Arab neighborhood, and this is seen as a terrible thing,” he said.
Netanyahu explained Arabs routinely purchase property in Jewish neighborhoods and that this is a welcome development in Israel. He said the Jewish purchases were no different.
White House seeks to replace Netanyahu
The U.S.-Israel bickering in large part fueled the coalition crisis that resulted in Netanyahu’s decision to dissolve his coalition. Lapid is widely expected to run against Netanyahu for the prime minister seat.
In March, WND quoted an informed diplomatic source in Jerusalem stating representatives for the Obama administration held meetings with Lapid to discuss the possibility of replacing Netanyahu.
The diplomatic source said the Obama administration identified Lapid as a moderate who could be helpful in pushing the Israeli government into accepting the framework to create a future Palestinian state.
According to the source, the talks included the possibility of Lapid bolting Netanyahu’s government if the prime minister rejected the U.S.-brokered regional talks.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/12/obama-tentacles-on-dissolution-of-netanyahus-govt/#OggMzPLx3kpSBOSz.99