Report: Netanyahu contacts Clinton, Trump ahead of elections

Israel suspects Obama will try to undermine the currently-defunct Israeli-Palestinian peace process by supporting a pro-Palestinian resolution at the United Nations – or at the very least by doing nothing to stop it.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu contacted Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her Republican Rival Donald Trump separately, pledging “diplomatic moves” after January 20, in order to “turn around the trend of cool political US-Israel relations over the past eight years,” this according to a report by Israel Radio on Sunday.

The Prime Minister’s Office is quoted as saying that Netanyahu is hoping that this bid will serve to neutralize any plans by President Barack Obama to take unilateral moves against Israel between elections day and inauguration day.

Jerusalem fears that Obama will launch a last-ditch diplomatic initiative at the United Nations during the interim period between the elections in November and the swearing-in of the elected president in January that would severely hinder Israel’s maneuvering abilities during any upcoming negotiations with the Palestinians.

According to the report the quotes both US and Israeli sources, both candidates said they objected to unilateral steps such as a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution that would recognize a Palestinian state either immediately or within a certain timeframe, and which would outline the parameters of a permanent arrangement between Israel and Palestinians.

However, both candidates said they could stop Obama from taking such a drastic step, the report said.

Trump said that he had no ability to stop Obama, and was “fearful” that Obama might be more likely to take such a move if he wins. However, he said he would work to reverse the moves taken by Obama, if elected.

Clinton and her team said that they have urged Obama to refrain from any moves that might “tie her hands” when she becomes president. They say that regardless of what Obama does, a Clinton Administration would work hard to “restore the relationship between a US president and Israeli prime minister to what it was in its better days.”

While meeting with Netanyahu in New York in September, Clinton emphasized “her opposition to any attempt by outside parties to impose a solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “including by the UN Security Council.”

By: World Israel News Staff