The Obama administration, with every justification, strongly condemned the action as a betrayal of the idea of a two-state solution in the Middle East. Another, though weaker, option is for Mr. Obama to act unilaterally and articulate this framework for the two parties. A failure to freeze settlements has long been at the center of tensions between successive American administrations and Israel. This latest decision was especially insulting, coming just a few weeks after the United States and Israel concluded a defense agreement guaranteeing Israel $38 billion in military aid over 10 years. Theoretically, the aid gives the United States leverage over Israel, but various administrations have been loath to exercise it; the first President George Bush withheld $400 million in loan guarantees from Israel in 1990 over the settlement issue.

Source: New York Times October 07, 2016 00:56 UTC