(Community Matters) I agree with Defense Secretary Panetta on this.
Some see US support as at an all time high. Though while this may be true on Capitol Hill, I don’t believe it’s so within the broader American electorate (hope I’m wrong and the first prediction is right). Neither the administration nor Israel has effectively articulated why we’d spend so much capital obstructing the UN’s recognition of Palestine as a state. This risks further eroding broader electorate support in the US.
Israel deserves our support, our full security defense. The Palestinian leadership must acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as well as police its own people, discontinuing terrorist acts. Of course, it’s those hoping to escalate tensions into full blown war who instigate the hostile acts – not all Palestinian people. To Arabs, continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem must seem similarly hostile.
I’m scared for my friends, Israelis – fear Netanyahu and his government have seriously weakened the country’s security.
Community Matters 