Right-Wing MKs Slam US Ambassador In Meeting
A meeting Tuesday between U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro and a number of Knesset members from the Right intended to thaw relations between the sides ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with President Barack Obama next week appears to have had the opposite effect, with several of the MKs up in arms over the envoy's statements.
When Shapiro spoke of the U.S. commitment to security measures as part of the diplomatic negotiations, MK Orit Struck (Habayit Hayehudi) responded with, "We don't care about security measures, we are here because we have the right to be here."
On the issue of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard's continued incarceration, Struck told Shapiro: "Don't sell us stupid claims. No one is Israel believes them."
While Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has been trying to adopt a conciliatory tone toward the Americans as of late, fellow Yisrael Beytenu MK David Rotem did not hesitate to criticize the U.S. "How can we depend on you? When have you stood by us?" Rotem asked Shapiro.
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http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=15763
