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Building a house in Jerusalem (TINSC)
Oren was referring to a crisis that evolved when Israel refused to sign a treaty to withdraw forces from Sinai in 1975.
In an unusual move, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) made a public call on the White House to tone down the rhetoric. The lobby said statements made by senior officials in US President Barack Obama’s administration were “very worrying.”
The crisis erupted late last week when the Interior Ministry announced the building of 1,600 housing units in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, while US Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Israel.
The US administration refused to let go of the issue, even after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu apologized to Biden and Biden said the apology was accepted.
AIPAC said the White House should avoid public demands and unilaterally setting a timetable for Israel to follow.
In his briefing to consuls, Oren said the crisis with the US is of “historic” proportions.
The US reportedly wants Israel to announce that it’s cancelling the Ramat Shlomo project, investigate how the project came to be announced when Biden was here, and make gestures towards the Palestinian Authority. The US also reportedly demands that Israel publicly announce that all core issues will be discussed during negotiations.