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Livni: Israeli-US relations in crisis because of Netanyahu

February 20, 2015 at 10:14 am

Israel’s relationship with the US is “in crisis”, former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni warned yesterday.

In an interview with on Israeli public radio, Livni attributed this crisis to the “intervention of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the US’s internal affairs,” saying, “Netanyahu undermines the security and strategic relations between Israel and the United States.”

Livni was referring to the Israeli-American differences regarding the international negotiations with Iran on its nuclear weapons and Netanyahu’s insistence to deliver a speech before US Congress on 3 March, despite opposition from the US administration.

She rejected Netanyahu’s accusations against her as “a threat to the State of Israel”, and said: “Netanyahu does not hesitate to use any means for attacking me personally.”

Earlier yesterday, Netanyahu described Livni as “a threat to Israel”; accusing her of opposing his instructions by meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a few days before the signing of the unity government deal with Hamas last year.

Livni responded saying, “Netanyahu is the one who had contacts with Hamas,” referring to indirect negotiations to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, with an Egyptian intermediary, last August to bring the 51-day Israeli war on the Gaza Strip to an end.