Americans More Hawkish than Israelis

Americans More Hawkish than Israelis

I haven't written about the possibly immanent Shalit deal. We wait, for the time being. Interestingly, however, according to Haaretz, AIPAC and also the American administration (that would be the Obama administration) are unhappy with what they're hearing:

Meanwhile, a senior Israeli official told Army Radio on Wednesday that the U.S. administration is opposed to the emerging understandings between Israel and Hamas surrounding the deal. "The U.S. does not support negotiations with terror organizations," the official said. "Washington knows that any release of Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank could harm Palestinian President Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) and become a victory for Hamas," he added.

The pro-Israel lobby AIPAC also voiced concern over the possible prisoner swap but refrained from explicitly criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, senior AIPAC strategist Josh Block told Army Radio that the Israeli government must find a balance between the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and the protection of Israel's long-term interests.

I'm not certain what to make of those statements, but I thought you'd find them interesting. It's a very odd configuration of positions.

Originally posted by Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations