RAMALLAH, October 31 (JMCC) - A major Republican caucus has written to US president Barack Obama, asking him to oppose Palestinian efforts to appeal to the United Nations for a resolution on Palestinian statehood.
Rep. Tom Price of Georgia wrote to Obama on behalf of the 115-member Republican Study Committee on Thursday.
“Any
support for such a measure would create a serious barrier to peace
between
Israel and the Palestinians,” the letter stated.
Price also
pressed Obama
to back Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s call for the Palestinians to
recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
Negotiations between Israelis
and
Palestinians have ground to a halt after Israel refused to extend a
freeze on
settlements that ended in September and the Palestinians have refused to
negotiate without a freeze in place. Netanyahu suggested that he would
reinstate
a freeze if Palestinians recognized the Jewish nature of the State of
Israel.
Both Israelis and Palestinians are now watching the US
elections
before making major moves, and both Democrats and Republicans are
seizing on
issues connected to Israel to attract Jewish voters.
Read the story at the Jerusalem Post...