Palestinian Officials Claim Obama Said Wait Until After Election – OpEd
By Jim Kouri
Palestinian officials allege that the Obama administration told them not to expect anything big this year, and to be patient as President Barack Obama’s reelection is a prime concern.
This allegation came after United States officials stated on Saturday that the Obama Administration is “deeply concerned over the renewal of violence in southern Israel” as terrorists in the Gaza Strip continue to launch rockets into Israel.
“We are deeply concerned by the renewal of violence in southern Israel,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the rocket fire from Gaza by terrorists into southern Israel in recent days, which has dramatically and dangerously escalated in the past day,” she said.
Nuland denied news reports and statements by Palestinian officials that allege the Obama administration had told them not to expect anything big this year, or to be patient as President Barack Obama’s reelection is a prime concern and the peace process is not an issue of importance, as reported by the Detroit Free Press.
The ongoing conflict has left 14 terrorists killed and more than 25 Palestinians injured. The majority of the dead are members of the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel would continue to strike any group trying to attack Israeli citizens and would acquire further Iron Dome systems to shoot down incoming rockets, according to a Law Enforcement Examiner source in the Israeli National Police.
Over 100 rockets from Gaza have fallen in southern Israel since Friday. The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted 27 of the 29 rockets it targeted, the source noted.
“We call on those responsible to take immediate action to stop these cowardly acts,” Nuland said.
“We regret the loss of life and injuries, and we call on both sides to make every effort to restore calm,” she added.
Nuland had said on Friday that the United States is continuing its efforts to try to bring the Israelis and the Palestinians “back to the table for direct talks.”
However, the Israeli government and many of the people are not expecting much support from President Obama, said the Israeli National Police source, who served in law enforcement in a major city police department before moving to Israel.
“I believe the Palestinians when they say they were told to be patient until after the November [presidential] election. Most Americans forget that Palestinians donated money to Obama’s 2008 campaign and they say he never returned the money when he claimed he did,” said the veteran police commander.
