Biden: Nuclear Iran Would Threaten U.S. As Well As Israel.

By Ha'aretz, Reuters & IsraelNationalNews.com

The White House officially announced on Monday that indirect Israeli-Palestinian Authority talks will begin as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Israel in summery weather and a political storm.

PA negotiator Saeb Erekat protested Israel's declaration that it will implement a years-old plan to build 112 residential units in the large city of Beitar Illit, located barely inside Judea and Samaria.

Erekat expressed his own suspicions by responding to the Israeli announcement of new homes in Beitar Illit with a threat to call off the indirect talks before they even began. "If the Israeli government wants to sabotage Mitchell's efforts by taking such steps, let's talk to Mitchell about maybe not doing this if the price is so high."

In a well-timed and planned schedule of diplomatic flurry, Biden touched down after the White House announcement, followed by a statement by Middle East envoy George Mitchell that he is returning to the region next week.

Biden, the most senior U.S. official to visit Israel since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, is widely expected to caution his hosts not to attack Iran pre-emptively while world powers pursue fresh sanctions against Tehran.

In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Biden emphasized Washington's efforts to drum up greater international diplomatic pressure on the Iranians, as well as unilateral measures imposed by the U.S. Treasury.

Asked about the prospect of an Israeli attack, he said, "Though I cannot answer the hypothetical questions you raised about Iran, I can promise the Israeli people that we will confront, as allies, any security challenge it will face. A nuclear-armed Iran would constitute a threat not only to Israel - it would also constitute a threat to the United States."

Meanwhile on Monday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said that Iran does not pose an existential threat to Israel. "Iran isn't an existential threat to Israel at the moment, but it has the potential to develop into one, and we are working to prevent that," said Barak, speaking before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Biden, however, emphasized the Iranian threat and reiterated the United States' commitment to Israel. "[The Obama administration] gives Israel annual military aid worth $3 billion. We revived defense consultations between the two countries, doubled our efforts to ensure Israel preserves its qualitative military edge in the region, expanded our joint exercises and cooperation on missile-defense systems."

Israel, which is believed to have the region's only atomic arsenal, bombed Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981 and, in 2007, launched a similar sortie against Syria.

Those tactical challenges, and U.S. reluctance to see a new regional war, has led some analysts to predict Israel will eventually come round to a strategy of "containing" Iran - which denies its controversial uranium enrichment is for bombs.

Biden, who departs Israel on Thursday, was not expected to take part in indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks that would be spearheaded by Obama's special envoy, George Mitchell, and could be announced during his visit, although he will be briefed on them. U.S.-Israeli tensions flared over Obama's early push for a complete freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank.

Obama has since embraced a more limited, 10-month moratorium on new building announced by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in November.

Obama's has been trying to reach out to the Muslim world, a priority he highlighted with high-profile visits to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and, later this month, to Indonesia. "We certainly believe that when the United States effectively builds bridges with Muslim communities, this allows us to promote our interests, including interests that Israel benefits from," Biden told Yedioth.

"The construction freeze was a unilateral decision by the Israeli government, and it is not part of an agreement with the American administration or with the Palestinians," he said. "It is not everything that we wanted, but it is an important action that has significant impact on the ground."

Biden's meetings in Jerusalem begin Tuesday morning, when he will meet with President Shimon Peres at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. He will then continue on to the prime minister's Jerusalem residence to meet with Netanyahu and advisers. Following a private session, the two leaders will hold a joint press conference.

Biden will address the Israeli public at Tel Aviv University on Thursday, during which time he will discuss U.S.-Israel ties and Obama's vision for the peace process and dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat.

Biden: Nuclear Iran Would Threaten U.S. As Well As Israel.

By Ha'aretz, Reuters & IsraelNationalNews.com

The White House officially announced on Monday that indirect Israeli-Palestinian Authority talks will begin as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Israel in summery weather and a political storm.

PA negotiator Saeb Erekat protested Israel's declaration that it will implement a years-old plan to build 112 residential units in the large city of Beitar Illit, located barely inside Judea and Samaria.

Erekat expressed his own suspicions by responding to the Israeli announcement of new homes in Beitar Illit with a threat to call off the indirect talks before they even began. "If the Israeli government wants to sabotage Mitchell's efforts by taking such steps, let's talk to Mitchell about maybe not doing this if the price is so high."

In a well-timed and planned schedule of diplomatic flurry, Biden touched down after the White House announcement, followed by a statement by Middle East envoy George Mitchell that he is returning to the region next week.

Biden, the most senior U.S. official to visit Israel since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, is widely expected to caution his hosts not to attack Iran pre-emptively while world powers pursue fresh sanctions against Tehran.

In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Biden emphasized Washington's efforts to drum up greater international diplomatic pressure on the Iranians, as well as unilateral measures imposed by the U.S. Treasury.

Asked about the prospect of an Israeli attack, he said, "Though I cannot answer the hypothetical questions you raised about Iran, I can promise the Israeli people that we will confront, as allies, any security challenge it will face. A nuclear-armed Iran would constitute a threat not only to Israel - it would also constitute a threat to the United States."

Meanwhile on Monday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said that Iran does not pose an existential threat to Israel. "Iran isn't an existential threat to Israel at the moment, but it has the potential to develop into one, and we are working to prevent that," said Barak, speaking before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Biden, however, emphasized the Iranian threat and reiterated the United States' commitment to Israel. "[The Obama administration] gives Israel annual military aid worth $3 billion. We revived defense consultations between the two countries, doubled our efforts to ensure Israel preserves its qualitative military edge in the region, expanded our joint exercises and cooperation on missile-defense systems."

Israel, which is believed to have the region's only atomic arsenal, bombed Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981 and, in 2007, launched a similar sortie against Syria.

Those tactical challenges, and U.S. reluctance to see a new regional war, has led some analysts to predict Israel will eventually come round to a strategy of "containing" Iran - which denies its controversial uranium enrichment is for bombs.

Biden, who departs Israel on Thursday, was not expected to take part in indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks that would be spearheaded by Obama's special envoy, George Mitchell, and could be announced during his visit, although he will be briefed on them. U.S.-Israeli tensions flared over Obama's early push for a complete freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank.

Obama has since embraced a more limited, 10-month moratorium on new building announced by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in November.

Obama's has been trying to reach out to the Muslim world, a priority he highlighted with high-profile visits to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and, later this month, to Indonesia. "We certainly believe that when the United States effectively builds bridges with Muslim communities, this allows us to promote our interests, including interests that Israel benefits from," Biden told Yedioth.

"The construction freeze was a unilateral decision by the Israeli government, and it is not part of an agreement with the American administration or with the Palestinians," he said. "It is not everything that we wanted, but it is an important action that has significant impact on the ground."

Biden's meetings in Jerusalem begin Tuesday morning, when he will meet with President Shimon Peres at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. He will then continue on to the prime minister's Jerusalem residence to meet with Netanyahu and advisers. Following a private session, the two leaders will hold a joint press conference.

Biden will address the Israeli public at Tel Aviv University on Thursday, during which time he will discuss U.S.-Israel ties and Obama's vision for the peace process and dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat.