Israel under fire over spy claims, racist remarks
Netanyahu starts fourth term putting out political fires
ISRAEL finds itself putting out menacing political fires sparked by bombshell claims it spied on the closed-door talks on Iran’s nuclear plans, and by “racist” remarks by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that enraged his country’s Arab minority and drew a rebuke from the US.
Israel denied yesterday that it spied on the US-led negotiations aimed at curtailing Iran’s nuclear programme.
“These allegations are utterly false,” a senior official in Netanyahu’s office said on condition of anonymity. “The State of Israel does not conduct espionage against the United States or Israel’s other allies.
“The false allegations are clearly intended to undermine the strong ties between the US and Israel” as well as their security and intelligence co-operation, the official added.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the White House learned about the espionage soon after the US and other major powers began the negotiations last year.
Netanyahu used the information to help build a case against the emerging terms of the deal, the paper quoted current and former US officials as saying.
In addition to eavesdropping, Israel acquired information from confidential US briefings, informants and diplomatic contacts in Europe, the officials said.
The espionage did not upset the White House as much as Israel’s sharing of inside information with US lawmakers and others, they said.
“It is one thing for the US and Israel to spy on each other. It is another thing for Israel to steal US secrets and play them back to US legislators to undermine US diplomacy,” said a senior US official.
Meanwhile, on another front, Netanyahu apologised to Israel’s Arab citizens on Monday for remarks he made during last week’s parliament election that offended members of the community.
The move appeared to be an attempt to heal rifts and mute criticism at home and in the US. Netanyahu drew accusations of racism in Israel, especially from its Arab minority, and a White House rebuke when, just a few hours before polling stations were to close across the country, he warned that Arab citizens were voting “in droves”.
But President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Denis McDonough, rejected Netanyahu’s attempt to distance himself from his comments, telling an Israel advocacy group on Monday that the US can’t just overlook what Netanyahu said on the eve of his re-election.
Netanyahu, whose Likud Party won reelection in the vote, met with members of the Arab community at his residence in Jerusalem on Monday, and apologised.
He said he knows his “comments last week offended some Israeli citizens and offended members of the Israeli-Arab community”.
“This was never my intent. I apologise for this,” Netanyahu said. “I view myself as the prime minister of each and every citizen of Israel, without any prejudice based on religion, ethnicity or gender.”
A recently established alliance of four small, mostly Arab parties called the Joint List made unprecedented gains in the March 17 election, earning enough votes to make it the third-largest party in Israel’s parliament. Arab citizens make up 20 percent of Israel’s population. Equality is guaranteed in Israel’s laws but many Arabs have long complained of discrimination, mainly in the job and housing market.
Ayman Odeh, the head of the Joint List, told channel 2 TV that Netanyahu’s apology was not accepted.
“This is not a real apology,” Odeh said. “He incited against citizens who were exercising their basic right to vote for Knesset.”
Odeh also accused Netanyahu of “zigzagging” by saying one thing one day and a different another.
In the final days of the campaign, Netanyahu angered the US by taking a tough stance toward the Palestinians and by saying a Palestinian state will not be established on his watch in the current climate of regional chaos and violence. Resolving the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in a two state solution is a key US foreign policy priority.
In his speech to J Street, an Israel advocacy group that is sharply critical of Netanyahu, McDonough warned Israel against annexing the West Bank, where Palestinians hope to establish their future state.
He said Netanyahu’s prediction that a Palestinian state wouldn’t come about on his watch was “very troubling” and called into question Netanyahu’s broader commitment to the two-state solution the US and Israel have officially supported for years.
“We cannot simply pretend that these comments were never made,” McDonough said.
Obama’s decision to dispatch his chief of staff to speak to J Street was seen as another sign that Obama intends to take a tougher tack toward Netanyahu.
Israelis and Palestinians are closely watching to see how US policy will change in practical terms after Netanyahu’s success in the elections.
Obama has said the US must reevaluate its approach to pursuing Mideast peace because of Netanyahu’s comments, and has entertained speculation the US will be less willing to come to Israel’s defence in the United Nations. The US has voted against UN resolutions supporting the establishment of a Palestinian state, insisting the matter should be negotiated directly with Israel.
Netanyahu’s tough talk was part of a lastditch attempt to spur his more hard-line supporters to the polls after it appeared he was losing voters to a more hawkish party.
Netanyahu defended his election-day remarks in the days after the vote.
He told NBC last Thursday that he remains committed to Palestinian statehood – if conditions in the region improve – and to the two-state vision first spelled out in a landmark 2009 speech at Israel’s Bar Ilan University. “I haven’t changed my policy,” he said. “I never retracted my speech.”
Earlier on Monday, Netanyahu secured a majority of backers in the new parliament and will later be tasked with forming the next government. – Sapa-AP, Sapa-dpa