American voices calling for a Palestinian state are getting louder, and it's up to the government of Israel to take a strong stand. So says Dr. Yossi Ben-Aharon, former Director-General of Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir's office and a man with much experience in Israeli-U.S. relations. Ben-Aharon, speaking with Arutz-7's Yosef Zalmanson today, was relating to recent statements by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, who surprised many by telling the Washington Post on Friday that following the war in Iraq, his government will concentrate its efforts both on establishing a Palestinian state and against the Jewish "settlements" in Judea and Samaria. Wolfowitz is considered one of the more pro-Israel senior members of the U.S. Administration.
"Whenever there is a potential clash with the Arabs," Ben-Aharon said, "the Americans try to find something to mollify them - and it usually comes at the expense of Israel. But it all depends on our government. It must stand strong against these pressures, although this does not seem to be the case with our present Prime Minister." He also noted that U.S. President George Bush is following in the footsteps of his father: "In 1991, Bush promised to coordinate the attack with us, and didn't, and then ended up sending James Baker here to pressure us, culminating in the Madrid Conference. The same scenario is unfolding now again."
"Whenever there is a potential clash with the Arabs," Ben-Aharon said, "the Americans try to find something to mollify them - and it usually comes at the expense of Israel. But it all depends on our government. It must stand strong against these pressures, although this does not seem to be the case with our present Prime Minister." He also noted that U.S. President George Bush is following in the footsteps of his father: "In 1991, Bush promised to coordinate the attack with us, and didn't, and then ended up sending James Baker here to pressure us, culminating in the Madrid Conference. The same scenario is unfolding now again."