As Washington came back to work Monday, the biggest question in town was: What did Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demand from Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu in their contentious Friday phone call?The White House decided to publicly shame Netanyahu by getting him on the phone with Clinton Friday morning and then announcing the harshness of the secretary's message at the State Department's afternoon press conference.......
The most detailed account of what exactly Clinton demanded of Netanyahu was outlined in this Haaretz report, but two State Department officials tell The Cable that the Israeli newspaper got it partially wrong.
The Haaretz story said that Clinton asked for at least four specific things: an investigation of how the settlement announcement happened, a public reversal of that decision, a "substantial gesture" toward the Palestinians such as a prisoner release, and an "official declaration" that the indirect talks that U.S. envoy George Mitchell is trying to get started this week will deal with all the core issues in the conflict.
"Some of it is right and some of it is wrong," said one State Department official about the report, speaking on background basis, reflecting a concerted effort throughout the administration to keep the specifics of the demands quiet. One official told The Cable that the specific issue that caused the row, Israel's announcement that it would construct 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem, would have to be addressed in order to make things right with the White House.
A demand for an investigation of the announcement is somewhat moot because Netanyahu has already announced one. An official commitment by the Israelis to put all final settlement issues on the table now, which Crowley's comments seemed to confirm, is seen as extremely unlikely given Netanyahu's domestic political constraints.
A different State Department official, also speaking on background basis, acknowledged that Clinton had given Netanyahu several different options for building Palestinian confidence in indirect talks that would clearly show "the level of commitment that they [the Israelis] have to the peace process."
Crowley said the State Department was still waiting for a "formal response" to Clinton's demands, which could come today or tomorrow. He dismissed reports that Israel had already decided not to reverse the settlement decision and reiterated that the State Department was still awaiting an official response.......
Some insiders fear that asking Netanyahu for things that he might not be able to deliver, the administration is actually making a return to talks more difficult than it has to be. For example, it's not clear that Netanyahu is in a position to unilaterally reverse the settlement announcement........ "By setting down a public marker in this way, out beyond what can be expected from any Israeli government, we are literally repeating the mistakes the administration made in the spring and has yet to recover from," said one Middle East hand (whose silence would be most welcome!)....
Republican lawmakers are also admonishing the White House for taking such a public stance.
"The administration's decision to escalate its rhetoric following Vice President Biden's visit to Israel is not merely irresponsible, it is an affront to the values and foundation of our long-term relationship with a close friend and ally," read a statement by House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-OH. Similar statements have been issued by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-KS, Rep.Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-FL, and others..."
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