Post by Shadow on Mar 12, 2006 10:30:09 GMT -5
Haaretz
By Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Correspondent
Israel has in recent days delivered not one but two slaps to its closest ally.
The first came in remarks by ex-Shin Bet chief and senior Kadima candidate Avi Dichter, speaking of negating the road map and moving on to a policy of unilateralism - in contrast to statements by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in her joint news conference with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
The second was delivered via a USAID report, which corroborated the claims of Palestinians that Israel was failing to keep promises it had made to Rice, a situation which according to the study could bring about economic catastrophe, beginning with the destruction of the Gaza hothouses project, which Washington had so strongly supported.
Since her return from her first visit as foreign minister to Washington last month, Tzipi Livni has been boasting of her tight cooperation and ties of coordination with her counterpart Rice. However, it appears that she has no similar relations with Dichter, who is placed a few slots after her on Kadima's Knesset candidate list, because the former Shin Bet chief's plan to replace the road map peace plan with unilateral moves amounts to a slap in the face to Livni's new friend in the American State Department.
Here are the main points in Rice's answer to a question that came up during a joint Livni and Rice press conference, regarding the no-partner approach and the option of unilateral acts:
"We certainly hope that over the next period of time that there will be a partner for Israel to deal with," Rice replied. "That is everyone's hope for the roadmap. That depends on what happens in the Palestinian territories. The United States position on this is very clear and remains the same. No one should try and unilaterally predetermine the outcome of a final status agreement. That's to be done at final status," Rice said.
By Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Correspondent
Israel has in recent days delivered not one but two slaps to its closest ally.
The first came in remarks by ex-Shin Bet chief and senior Kadima candidate Avi Dichter, speaking of negating the road map and moving on to a policy of unilateralism - in contrast to statements by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in her joint news conference with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
The second was delivered via a USAID report, which corroborated the claims of Palestinians that Israel was failing to keep promises it had made to Rice, a situation which according to the study could bring about economic catastrophe, beginning with the destruction of the Gaza hothouses project, which Washington had so strongly supported.
Since her return from her first visit as foreign minister to Washington last month, Tzipi Livni has been boasting of her tight cooperation and ties of coordination with her counterpart Rice. However, it appears that she has no similar relations with Dichter, who is placed a few slots after her on Kadima's Knesset candidate list, because the former Shin Bet chief's plan to replace the road map peace plan with unilateral moves amounts to a slap in the face to Livni's new friend in the American State Department.
Here are the main points in Rice's answer to a question that came up during a joint Livni and Rice press conference, regarding the no-partner approach and the option of unilateral acts:
"We certainly hope that over the next period of time that there will be a partner for Israel to deal with," Rice replied. "That is everyone's hope for the roadmap. That depends on what happens in the Palestinian territories. The United States position on this is very clear and remains the same. No one should try and unilaterally predetermine the outcome of a final status agreement. That's to be done at final status," Rice said.