Possible New Sign in Downturn of U.S.-Israel Relations

If a BBC report is accurate, the next unambiguous mark in the deterioration of U.S.-Israel relations will be America’s refusal to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution criticizing Israeli building in Jerusalem. The British news agency is reporting that the possibility was raised by a senior Obama administration official in conversation with the Qatari foreign minister. The United States traditionally uses its Security Council veto to defend Israel from resolutions that are typically called “one-sided” by both governments. But as the relationship between the traditional allies continues to unravel, many are seeing the threat of an abstention rather than veto by the U.S. as the strongest message to date by the White House in signaling its displeasure with the Jewish state. President Obama has demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu submit a list of concessions in writing that include a full cessation of any Israeli building in areas it acquired in the 1967 war, including Jerusalem. But Netanyahu, citing a consensus on the issue among all prime ministers since 1967, refuses to do so. The Israelis are now concerned that President Obama is prepared to bypass direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and move toward an imposed settlement, a policy that will doubtless transform Israel and the United States from the closest of allies to adversaries.