Israeli, Palestinian Leadership Increase Sparring Before D.C. Visits

[Analysis] Tension between Israeli and Palestinian leadership is intensifying as both sides hone their initial pitches to be delivered to the White House in upcoming visits by Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud ‘Abbas. Since Netanyahu took over as prime minister on April 1, diplomatic and media attention has been focused on his reticence to embrace the diplomatic mantra espousing a two-state solution and his demand that the Palestinians recognize the Jewish nature of the state of Israel. Palestinian Authority head ‘Abbas on Monday repeated his refusal to do so. In a speech delivered in Ramallah, ‘Abbas set a total freeze on Israeli construction in post-1967 territories as a prerequisite for returning to the negotiating table. Netanyahu’s attempt at making Jewish recognition a prerequisite of his own was shot down by United States President Barack Obama, who backed the Palestinian position, saying that acknowledging Jewish Israel is not necessary for the peace process to continue. Meanwhile, analysts at The Media Line suggest that Netanyahu’s position is resonating with the Israeli people, who see the refusal of Palestinians to acknowledge the Jewish nature of their state as reason for concern about Palestinian motives. Some see the escalating issue as presenting new obstacles to coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. Israeli leadership remains concerned about a series of signals from the Obama White House being interpreted as a discernable shift away from the relationship Jerusalem enjoyed with the Bush administration.