Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Israeli leaders Monday, and almost immediately paved the way for for a possible spat between the Obama administration and Israel's likely next prime minister, according to dpa. Clinton lost no time in emphasizing the US commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, something Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has refrained from endorsing, although he has spoken of Palestinian self- government. With Israel being run by a caretaker government while Netanyahu tries to build a coalition, Clinton's visit was billed as a "familiarization" trip, and the Secretary of State may find herself forced to recall the observation of one of her predecessors, Henry Kissinger, who noted that "Israel has no foreign policy, only domestic politics." Her meeting with Netanyahu on Tuesday afternoon is the most important, on the Israeli side, of her trip. President Shimon Peres' powers are largely ceremonial, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is leaving politics, and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defence Minister Ehud Barak appear destined for the opposition, after refusing Netanyahu's call to join a unity government. Netanyahu may be shying away from a two-state commitment out of genuine ideological belief - he is a known hardliner - or he may be wary of alienating potential hardline partners in a government he seems fated to form. These potential partners, all of whom Netanyahu needs if he is to form a majority coalition, include parties which reject any form of Palestinian statehood. They also champion Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, something else which is likely to accelerate another collision with the Obama administration, which expects Israel to adhere to commitments to halt all settlement activity. On both these issues Netanyahu finds himself faced with the choice of either alienating his potential allies in government, or Israel's main ally on the world stage. Clinton herself hinted at possible future tension, telling a news conference in Jerusalem Tuesday that while the US has "always worked and supported" the Israeli government and people, that does not mean that "we might not have opinions that we might express once in a while." For Clinton, solving the Israeli-Palestinian impasses - which defeated her husbands when he was president - is a priority which will ease Washington's relations with the Muslim world. Netanyahu however believes that Iranian policies are of more pressing concern to Israel at the moment. According to "sources close to Netanyahu" quoted on Israel Radio Tuesday, the premier-designate intended telling Clinton that before any steps will be taken on the Palestinian issue, the issue of Iran's nuclear ambitions must be resolved. Netanyahu has long warned of the existential dangers to Israel posed by a nuclear Iran, and has also pointed out that it is Tehran which is financing and backing the Islamic groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, opposed to any peace treaty with Israel. But, says analyst Yossi Klein Halevi, writing in The New Republic, "Netanyahu knows that, in order to effectively confront Iran, Israel needs a good working relationship with the Obama administration". And he is unlikely to get it by opposing Washington's way of settling the Israeli-Palestinian imbroglio.
