Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman strongly condemns the Biden administration, warning that: "As the tension between the U.S. and Israel continues and prolongs, there is certainly potential here to worsen the situation to the point of harming Israel's security, especially on the cognitive level." In an interview expected to be published tomorrow (Friday) in the weekly Kfar Chabad, he warns against the US policy and says that its moves are problematic and disproportionate.
Knesset Channel
In the interview, Friedman says that the United States is making a serious mistake by not inviting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington. Referring to a tweet by current U.S. Ambassador Tom Nides comparing those killed in the Ali attack to terrorists killed in Jenin, a tweet for which Nides apologized this morning on Israel Hayom, he said, "This is even more disturbing in light of other things such as, for example, a statement by the US ambassador to Israel now, in the style of comparing the murder of innocent Israeli Jews by murderers of Palestinian terrorists to the deaths of – as opposed to – terrorists in battle with the IDF."
Netanyahu and Biden in Better Days, Photo: Raanan Cohen
"Just in recent days, another serious thing has happened – the cessation of American support for a research institute operating in Judea and Samaria, which by the way the United States began during my tenure as ambassador to Israel," Friedman accuses, and also attacked what he described as "disproportionate criticism of other moves by Israel, such as building permits on the so-called 'beyond the Green Line' and more. An issue that has become almost an obsession of the Biden administration, almost ignoring the Israeli position, which is the absolute truth, in my opinion, because all in all, this is completely legitimate construction in the biblical historical homeland of the Jewish people."
"There is no room for concessions to the Palestinians"
"The declared position of the United States is, as is well known, that the solution to the situation in the Land of Israel is – two states for two peoples. This leads to the position that Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria, what some like to call "settlements," and its expansion, is an obstacle to this solution. However, as I have emphasized in the past, there will never be two states. The reason why this will never arise and will not be is not the "settlement," because the Palestinian side does not agree to the very life and existence of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. And until this position is changed or completely eliminated, what should be discussed with them at all?!"
Benjamin Netanyahu and former ambassador David Friedman, photo: AFP
"Looking at the past, after serving for several years as U.S. ambassador to Israel and following events continuously today, it is clear to me that there is no place and no point in making any concessions to the Palestinians," Friedman said. "It is inconceivable that Israel will agree to an enemy state with an army and weapons aimed at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv."
"As long as the tension between the United States and Israel continues and prolongs, there is certainly potential here to worsen the situation to the point of harming Israel's security, especially on the cognitive level," he added. "The more Israel's enemies see that Israel's international political status is weakening, the more aggressive they become in their attempts to harm Israel. We see it in Judea and Samaria and also in other arenas such as Gaza, Syria and Lebanon. When the enemies see that America is distancing itself from Israel, unfortunately, they raise their heads."
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