Clinton: US has no position on Israeli politics
Photo: AP
Clinton: Pressure on Israel paid off
US secretary of state explains peace talks are back on track due to US pressure on government
WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said US pressure on Israel had "paid off", and that she foresees the restarting of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in the near future.
"I think we're going to see the resumption of the negotiation track and that means that it is paying off because that's our goal. Let's get the parties into a discussion, let's (get) the principle issues on the table and let's begin to explore ways that we can resolve the differences," Clinton told the BBC in an interview Friday.
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She added that the US does not intervene in Israeli political issues. "We're not taking any position and we have no particular stake in who the Israelis choose to govern them. They're a democracy and they make that choice," she said.
However Clinton said she believes parts of the government behave in ways "that are not in the best interest of the government as a whole".
"I think what the prime minister has said repeatedly is that his government and he personally are committed to pursuing these negotiations and he just has to make sure that he brings in everyone else, that's his responsibility it's not something that the United States can or is interested in doing," she explained.
Clinton spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone Thursday night and said she had received a satisfactory response from him on the matter of the construction plans announced in east Jerusalem during the vice president's visit to Israel.
The Prime Minister's Office stated that the two had agreed on "trust-building measures" to be taken by Israel as well as the Palestinian Authority.
