Friday, August 01, 2014

Hillary Clinton as 'Designated Yeller'

From

FAREED ZAKARIA GPS
Interview with Hillary Clinton
Aired July 27, 2014


ZAKARIA: Bibi Netanyahu. You said you had a complicated and it sounded like a difficult relationship with him.

CLINTON: Well, I have to say, I've known be a long time and I have a very good relationship with him, in part because we can yell at each other, and we do. And I was often the designated yeller. Something would happen, a new settlement announcement would come and I would call him up, what are you doing? You've got to stop this. And we understood each other because I know how hard it is to be the leader of a relatively small country that is under constant pressure and does face a lot of legitimate threats to its existence from those around it...

ZAKARIA: But you know, he gave an interview recently to I think it was "The Times of Israel" where he said there are no circumstances under which we will ever relinquish security control of the area west of the Jordan, meaning the West Bank. That sounds like it is going back on his acceptance of the two-state solution.

CLINTON: Well, Fareed, I see that as an opening negotiating position...

ZAKARIA; In 2009 you said that you wanted Israeli settlement activity to stop. In fact you were pretty blunt. You said no exceptions. You write in the book that that was a tactical mistake because it made Bibi Netanyahu get even more hard-line.

CLINTON: Right...This is my biggest complaint with the Israeli government. I am a strong supporter of Israel, strong supporter of their right to defend themselves. But the continuing settlements which have been denounced by successive American administrations on both sides of the aisle are clearly a terrible signal to send if at the same time you claim you're looking for a two-state solution. Now when I was negotiating and I had been able to put together three face-to-face meetings between Netanyahu and Abbas, it was clear that if we were working off the 67 borders which was our stated position that President Obama had outlined, some of the settlements would be within any reasonable drawing of borders for Israel. But a number of them would not. And those that would not would have to be either dismantled or live under Palestinian rule...


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