Israeli official: Obama-Netanyahu relationship is irreconcilable

The Palestinian news website Arabs48 has reported that several former Israeli officials, speaking to Israeli television, have described the relations between the US and Israel as having reached a critical new low after Israel’s Security Minister Moshe Ya’alon was denied meetings with senior US officials during his latest visit to Washington.

One Israeli official was quoted as saying that the relations between Netanyahu and Obama have deteriorated and become “irreconcilable”.

The former Israeli consul in New York, Alon Pinkas, reportedly told Israel’s Channel 2 that, “there is no trust whatsoever between Netanyahu and Obama.” He added: “I am convinced that the confidence of the US administration in Netanyahu is zero.”

Arabs48 also quoted Pinkas as saying that the relationship between the US and Israel currently has “spoiled blood” running through it, and he expressed his concern that this might extend to the executive level in the United States.

Regarding the possibility of any improvement in relations, the former Israel consul reportedly said: “As long as Netanyahu and Obama are in office, I cannot imagine any improvement in relations between them.” He also predicted that relations would not improve as long as the Democrats are in power, explaining: “Even if Hillary Clinton was elected to succeed Obama, I estimate only a slight improvement in the relations, but then things would soon go back to what we have seen during the past three years.”

Pinkas suggested that the recent incident with Ya’alon is primarily directed at Netanyahu, adding: “When they criticise Ya’alon or [Naftali] Bennett or [Gilad] Erdan, the ultimate goal is still Netanyahu, as he is the main problem for them.”

He described the crisis as “another stone in the wall built between Washington and Tel Aviv”.

According to Arabs48, Israel’s former ambassador to the US, Danny Ayalon, also pointed out that the growing crisis threatens Israeli interests. He explained that: “There is no doubt that there is a very bad thing happening at the level of relations between Israel and the US. So far, there have been no practical implications, but the loss of trust can penetrate to other levels. When the relations become really bad, they would certainly have significant repercussions, and could shake the American public opinion out of favour with Israel.”