Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has not changed his position on
settlements, Israel Radio quoted an official in his office as saying
Thursday. The comment comes in the wake of a report that Netanyahu's
senior security adviser said settlements impede Western support of
Israel.
According to Haaretz,
National Security Council head Yaakov Amidror recently told closed-door
meetings at the Prime Minister's Bureau that Israel's insistence on
continuing settlement construction is costing it international support
even among its most stalwart friends.
"It's impossible to explain the issue of settlement construction anyplace in the world," Amidror was quoted as saying.
"It's
impossible to explain this matter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel or
even to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Construction in the
settlements has become a diplomatic problem and is causing Israel to
lose support even among its friends in the West," Haaretz quoted Amidror as saying at a closed discussion.
Amidror,
a religious former head of research in Military Intelligence, has long
been associated with the right. He recently told Israeli ambassadors
serving abroad after who expressed concern about Israeli settlement
construction in E1 that they should either represent Israel's position,
resign or go into politics.
|