[Published: Friday March 19 2010]
Obama denies crisis with Israel
Washington, 18 March-(ANA)-US President Barack Obama has denied there is a crisis in Washington's ties with Israel over its settlement plans, as a war of words continues.
"Friends are going to disagree sometimes," he said, days after one of his top aides strongly attacked plans for 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has distanced himself from an attack on Mr Obama by his brother-in-law.
Hagai Ben-Artzi had accused the US leader of being anti-Semitic.
Mr Netanyahu said he "strenuously" objected to his brother-in-law's comment and expressed his "deep appreciation" for Mr Obama's commitment to Israel's security.
Israel's approval of the new homes came after both sides agreed to hold indirect "proximity talks" to revive the peace process, stalled for more than a year.
Speaking on the Fox News Channel, Mr Obama said on Wednesday that the new settlement homes were "not helpful" for building a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.
While he said the plan was a poor choice for Israel, he added: "Israel is one of our closest allies and we and the Israeli people have a special bond that's not going to go away."
Israel announced the Jewish settlement expansion as US Vice-President Joe Biden arrived for a visit last week.
The Palestinian Authority has refused to resume direct talks with Israel because of its refusal to put a stop to the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (ANA)
FA/ANA/18 March 2010------
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