US anger at Israel palpable

Israel's plans to build new housing units in occupied East Jerusalem have opened up a diplomatic rift with the United States unseen in years, if not decades, and has left US officials questioning whether the Jewish state is serious about its relationship with its biggest supporter.
The US opposition to the construction of new homes in occupied areas has long been a source of disagreement with Israel, but rarely do these differences result in such a public display of the US anger. The Israeli announcement of plans to build 1,600 new homes in an area envisioned by the Palestinians as their future capital came as US Vice President Joe Biden was in the country on Tuesday.
He was touting an agreement a day earlier for both sides to engage in indirect peace talks. The agreement was a sign that the Obama administration's intense 15-month effort to get the peace process back on track had finally yielded some progress, but the construction plans immediately endangered that modest step.
The announcement blindsided and was said to have embarrassed Biden, who issued a statement using unusually harsh language to condemn Israel for the decision hours after wrapping up meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. President Barack Obama was reportedly enraged.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton personally expressed her displeasure during a phone call with Netanyahu, prodding him about whether his government was serious about its enduring relationship with the United States, which includes about 3 billion dollars in annual aid - more than that of any other US recipient.
Clinton told Netanyahu that "the United States considered the announcement a deeply negative signal about Israel's approach to the bilateral relationship and counter to the spirit of the vice president's trip, and to reinforce that this action had undermined trust and confidence in the peace process and in America's interests," US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said.
The United States has not got this tough with Israel since the 1989-93 administration of former president George Bush, when aid was trimmed to punish Israel for building additional settlements, recalled former ambassador Art Hughes, who served as the State Department's top official for the region in the mid-1990s.
In this case, Israel likely miscalculated the reaction by assuming the United States would continue a historical pattern of backing down, said Hughes, who is now at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
"This administration is not playing the game the way earlier administrations have played," Hughes said, adding there is a concern that time is running out to resume peace talks and reach a settlement. The Israeli government said the announcement was not intended to undermine Biden's visit and described it as a bureaucratic mishap by Jerusalem's planning commission, which did not require approval from the prime minister's office before making the announcement.
The State Department did not entirely accept that explanation. "We accept what Prime Minister Netanyahu has said," Crowley said. "By the same token, he is the head of the Israeli government and ultimately is responsible for the actions of that government."
Obama lists the renewal of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process as a top priority. His diplomatic team has invested considerably in getting it back on track. US special envoy George Mitchell has made countless trips to the region, and is scheduled to go again next week.
Meanwhile, Washington was working to contain the fallout. Mitchell and Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Feltman have been on the phone with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE to persuade them to urge the Palestinians to remain in the talks.
"We jointly remain committed to this process, acknowledging that, obviously, it is a difficult environment given the Israeli statement," Crowley said. He said that in her talk with Netanyahu, Clinton "made clear that the Israeli government needed to demonstrate not just through words, but through specific actions, that they are committed to this relationship and to the peace process."