Barack Obama Part Three

sraeli Knesset Leader Criticizes Obama's “Naive Leadership”

• After Barack Obama's November 2012 re-election as U.S. President, Likud Party member Danny Danon, deputy speaker of Israel’s Knesset, said the following: “Obama’s victory demonstrates that the state of Israel must take care of its own interests. We cannot rely on anyone but ourselves. Obama has hurt the United States by his naïve leadership in foreign policy, which prefers the Arab world over the Western world, along with Israel. The state of Israel will not capitulate before Obama. ”

Hamas and Syria Step up Attacks against Israel Shortly after Obama's Re-election

• On November 6, 2012, Barack Obama was re-elected as U.S. President. Four days later, Hamas began a new wave of rocketattacks on Israel’s southern cities in a new wave. The day after that, Syria began shelling Israeli positions in the north. And on November 13, the Palestinian Authority announced its plan to make another bid for statehood at the United Nations.

Administration Criticizes Israel's Dealings with Palestinians

• Speaking at a forum at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy in Washington, DC on December 7, 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: “... I’m not making excuses for the missed opportunities of the Israelis, or the lack of generosity, the lack of empathy that I think goes hand-in-hand with the suspicion. So, yes, there is more that the Israelis need to do to really demonstrate that they do understand the pain of an oppressed people in their minds, and they want to figure out, within the bounds of security and a Jewish democratic state, what can be accomplished.”
  Clinton also criticized Israel’s newly announced plan to build 3,000 new housing units in east Jerusalem and the West Bank: “In light of today’s announcement, let me reiterate that this administration — like previous administrations — has been very clear with Israel that these activities set back the cause of a negotiated peace.”

Obama Says Israeli Settlement Policies Have Brought “Near Total Isolation”

• In January 2013, President Obama stated that Israel's expansion of settlements was driving the Jewish state towards “near-total isolation,” adding: “Israel doesn’t know what its own interests are.”
• In response to those remarks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “No one decides for the citizens of Israel. I think that President Obama knows that the ones determining Israel’s vital interests are the citizens of Israel, and they will be the ones to choose who will protect those interests in the best possible way.”
• Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas said the following about Obama's remarks: “Barack Obama said, simply and clearly, what he thinks about Israel's prime minister and where he is leading Israel. These are grave, alarming statements, which are without precedent.”

Obama Alludes to the "Legitimate Frustration" of Palestinians

• In March 2013, President Obama expressed his personal frustration over the lack of progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.According to one source, Obama said: "The only people more frustrated than me [are the] Palestinians living in West Bank and Gaza—it’s a legitimate frustration."

Obama Says Palestinians "Deserve a State of Their Own"

• During his March 2013 visit to Israel, President Obama said: “I’ve been clear with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli leadership. We do not consider continued [Israeli] settlement activity to be constructive, to be appropriate, to be something that can advance the cause of peace.” He added that the Palestinians deserved an end to Israeli “occupation” and the “daily indignities that come with it.” And he declared that the “Palestinians deserve a state of their own.”

Obama Pressures Israel to Apologize to Turkey

• Before departing Israel for Jordan on the last leg of his March 2013 trip to the Middle East, President Obama arranged for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to submit to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's demand for an apology regarding the deaths of eight Turkish nationals and one Turkish-American citizen resulting from Israel’s interdiction of the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish ship that was part of an anti-Israel activist flotilla attempting to break Israel’s lawful naval blockade of Gaza in 2010. Israel also agreed to pay several million dollars in compensation to the victims’ families.
  
  “In light of the Israeli investigation into the incident, which pointed out several operational errors,” said an Israeli government statement issued following the apology, “Prime Minister Netanyahu apologized to the Turkish people for any errors that could have led to loss of life and agreed to complete the agreement on compensation.” In reality, the violence was instigated entirely by several dozen Turkish jihadis aboard the Mavi Marmara, who refused to allow Israel to inspect their Gaza-bound cargo.
  
  Prime Minister Erdogan accepted the Israeli apology on behalf of the Turkish nation. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Netanyahu’s apology, and his offer of compensation and to further ease restrictions along the Gaza border with Israel, satisfied all of Turkey’s demands. Erdogan himself, in a call to Hamas leaderKhaled Meshaal, reportedly delivered the message that Israel had acceded to his conditions.
  
  But Erdogan did not wait long to draw back from his reciprocal promises to restore normal diplomatic relations and put an end to the legal proceedings against the Israeli soldiers who took part in the 2010 operation (which Ergodan himself helped precipitate) involving the Mavi Mamara. Just a day after receiving Netanyahu’s apology, Erdogan told Turkish reporters that it was too early to talk about dropping the Mavi Marmara case against the Israeli soldiers, and that normalizing diplomatic relations would come gradually. “We will see what will be put into practice during the process. If they move forward in a promising way, we will make our contribution. Then, there would be an exchange of ambassadors,” Erdogan said.
  
  Moreover, Erdogan failed to offer any apology of his own for his recent speech at a United Nations-sponsored Alliance of Civilizations conference in Vienna, where he equated Zionism with fascism and characterized Jews’ quest for their own nation in their historic homeland as a “crime against humanity.” In fact, just days before Netanyahu’s apology, Erdogan had declared that he stood by his remarks in Vienna, although he claimed they had been misunderstood.

Secret Negotiations with Iran: Israel Is Outraged

In early November 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration had begun softening U.S. sanctions against Iran (vis a vis the latter's nuclear program) soon after the election, five months earlier, of that country's new president, Hassan Rouhani. This move set the stage, in turn, for the United States -- in conjunction with Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany -- to propose a short-term “first step agreement” with Iran at a November meeting in Geneva. The deal, which sought to freeze Iran’s nuclear program for approximately six months in order to create an opportunity for a more comprehensive and lasting bargain to be negotiated, included four key provisions, as outlined by the London Telegraph:

1) Iran would stop enriching uranium to the 20 per cent level that is close to weapons-grade – and turn its existing stockpile of this material into harmless oxide.

2) Iran would continue enrichment to the 3.5 per cent purity needed for nuclear power stations – but agree to limit the number of centrifuges being used for this purpose. There would, however, be no requirement to remove or disable any other centrifuges.

3) Iran would agree not to activate its plutonium reactor at Arak, which could provide another route to a nuclear weapons capability, during the six-month period. Iran may, however, continue working on the facility.

4) Iran would agree not to use its more advanced IR-2 centrifuges, which can enrich uranium between three and five times faster than the older model.

“In return,” said the Telegraph, “America would ease economic sanctions, possibly by releasing some Iranian foreign exchange reserves currently held in frozen accounts. In addition, some restrictions affecting Iran’s petrochemical, motor and precious metals industries could be relaxed.”

On November 8, 2013, the Israeli government, which the Obama administration had not informed of the negotiations, was stunned to learn of the seemingly imminent deal with Iran. According to The DailyBeast.com, news of the agreement led to the canceling of a joint media appearance between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “and prompted, instead, a bitter exchange between them before Kerry headed off to the Swiss city” to take part in the multinational talks.

One Israeli official was quoted saying that “the Americans capitulated to Iranian maneuvering.... Kerry wants a deal at all costs and the Iranians are leading the Americans by the nose.”

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, outraged at the prospect of this agreement with Iran, said: "I understand that the Iranians are walking around very satisfied in Geneva, as well they should be, because they got everything, and paid nothing, they wanted. They wanted relief from sanctions after years of a gruelling sanctions regime.” Added Netanyhau:

“The deal that is being discussed in Geneva right now is a bad deal. It’s a very bad deal. Iran is not required to take apart even one centrifuge. But the international community is relieving sanctions on Iran for the first time after many years. Iran gets everything that it wanted at this stage and it pays nothing. And this is when Iran is under severe pressure. I urge Secretary Kerry not to rush to sign, to wait, to reconsider, to get a good deal. But this is a bad deal--a very, very bad deal. It’s the deal of a century for Iran; it’s a very dangerous and bad deal for peace and the international community."

"Israel utterly rejects it [the deal]," Netanyahu emphasized, "and what I am saying is shared by many in the region, whether or not they express that publicly.... Israel is not obliged by this agreement and Israel will do everything it needs to do to defend itself and the security of its people."

When Iran ultimately broke off negotiations on November 10, Netanyahu’s office issued a press release stating:

"Over the weekend I spoke with President Obama, with [Russian] President Putin, with [French] President Hollande, with [German] Chancellor Merkel and with British Prime Minister Cameron. I told them that according to all the information reaching Israel, the impending deal is bad and dangerous.

"It is not only dangerous to us; it is dangerous for them, too. It is dangerous for the peace of the world because in one fell swoop it lowers the pressure of the sanctions which took years to build, and conversely, Iran essentially preserves its nuclear uranium enrichment capabilities as well as the ability to advance on the plutonium enrichment path....

"I asked all the leaders what the rush is. And I suggested that they wait…. It is good that this was ultimately the choice that was made but I am not fooling myself—there is a strong desire to strike a deal…."

A number of days later, the U.S.—along with Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany—resumed negotiations with Iran. And on November 24th an interim agreement was reached,  wherein Iran agreed that for six months it would:

• place a 5% ceiling on its uranium enrichment;
• reduce to 7,000 kilograms the amount of already-enriched uranium in its possession;
• allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to conduct daily inspections of acknowledged enrichment sites in Natanz and Fordo; and
• suspend all work on its unfinished plutonium plant in Arak.

In exchange, the U.S. and its bargaining partners assured Iran that for the same six-month period:

• the United Nations and the European Union would impose no new sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program, and would cease efforts to further limit  Iran’s oil exports;
• sanctions on insurance services for transport to Iran would be suspended, along with additional restrictions on the sale of gold and other valuables;
• a new “financial channel” would permit Iran to access banking services for “humanitarian commerce”—e.g., the import of food, pharmaceuticals, and medical treatments;
• some U.S. sanctions would be suspended; and
• Washington would allow the sale of some spare parts for Iran’s Boeing transport aircraft.

But the agreement gave Russia, a staunch ally of Iran, the right to oversee whatever future actions the Western powers might wish to take regarding Iran. Moreover, the deal kept sensitive sites such as the Iranian military base at Parchin, where researchers were busy weaponizing enriched uranium, off-limits to inpectors. And the same immunity from inspections would apply also to any new nuclear sites that Iran might open up subsequent to the signing of the accord.

By John Kerry's telling: “The deal is the beginning and first step. It leads us into the negotiation—so that we guarantee that while we are negotiating for the dismantling, while we are negotiating for the tougher positions, they will not grow their program and their capacity to threaten Israel. Israel will actually gain a larger breathing space in terms of the breakout capacity of Iran. It’s just clear.”

President Obama was equally optimistic, saying the agreement would ensure that “Iran cannot build a nuclear weapon”—an assertion that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described as “a funny joke.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was deeply disturbed by news of the agreement with Iran. The day after the deal had been finalized, he said: “What was agreed last night in Geneva is not a historic agreement, it is a historic mistake. Today the world has become a much more dangerous place, because the most dangerous regime in the world has taken a significant step toward attaining the most dangerous weapon in the world.”

Netanyahu lamented that for the first time, the world's leading powers had agreed to permit uranium enrichment in Iran while suspending effective sanctions -- in exchange for merely “cosmetic Iranian concessions that are possible to do away with in a matter of weeks.” Declaring, further, that “Iran is committed to Israel’s destruction,” Netanyahu emphasized that his country “has the right and the obligation to defend itself, by itself, against any threat,” and thus “is not bound by this agreement.” “It becomes [increasingly] clear,” he added, “how bad and dangerous the agreement is to the world, the region and Israel.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, who likewise condemned the accord, said: “We are in a new reality that is different from yesterday, and it requires us to reevaluate the situation with good judgment, responsibly and with determination. We will do what we must and will not hesitate for a minute—and there is no need to add another word.”

Yet another Israeli official stated that his government was particulary upset by the fact that the U.S. had not even informed Israel that the negotiations were taking place.

Obama Tells Israel to Acept Mahmoud Abbas As Peace Partner
In a February 2014 interview with Jeffrey Goldberg, President Obama warnedthat if Israel and President Netanyahu failed to “make peace” soon with the Palestinians, Israel would be rendered “more isolated internationally.”

Turning a blind eye to every existing piece of polling data about the Palestinians' opinions regarding Israel's right to exist, Obama said: “The Palestinians would still prefer peace. They would still prefer a country of their own that allows them to find a job, send their kids to school, travel overseas, go back and forth to work without feeling as if they are restricted or constrained as a people. And they recognize that Israel is not going anywhere.... The voices for peace within the Palestinian community will be stronger with a framework agreement.”

With regard to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, Obamasaid: “I think nobody would dispute that whatever disagreements you may have with him, he has proven himself to be somebody who has been committed to nonviolence and diplomatic efforts to resolve this issue.... You’ve got a partner on the other side who is prepared to negotiate seriously, who does not engage in some of the wild rhetoric that so often you see in the Arab world when it comes to Israel, who has shown himself committed to maintaining order within the West Bank and the Palestinian Authority and to cooperate with Israelis around their security concerns — for us to not seize this moment I think would be a great mistake.”

Suggested that Netanyahu should make a deal as soon as possible, even if he found it emotionally difficult to do, Obama said: “One of the things my mom always used to tell me and I didn’t always observe, but as I get older I agree with — is if there’s something you know you have to do, even if it’s difficult or unpleasant, you might as well just go ahead and do it, because waiting isn’t going to help. When I have a conversation with Bibi, that’s the essence of my conversation: If not now, when? And if not you, Mr. Prime Minister, then who?”

Added Obama: “if he [Netanyahu] does not believe that a peace deal with the Palestinians is the right thing to do for Israel, then he needs to articulate an alternative approach. And as I said before, it’s hard to come up with one that’s plausible.”

But in fact, there was no reason to believe that Abbas actually wanted peace. He had consistently characterized Palestinian terrorists as heroes; he continued to spend fortunes on paying salaries to imprisoned terrorists, including many Hamas members who had murdered civilians after peace negotiations began; and he controlled only the West Bank (not the Hamas-dominated Gaza Strip), and thus could not promise that Gaza would abide by whatever agreements he himself might negotiate. And, as political analyst John Podhoretz subsequently noted: "In 2008, offered a peace deal by then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that involved Abbas actually drawing a new West Bank map giving the Palestinians something between 92 and 95 percent of the territory, Abbas basically fled the table and didn’t return." 

Netanyahu, for his part, subsequently addressed the Israeli-Palestinian issue and the remarks Obama had made:

"I mean, we [Israel] vacated cities in Judea and Samaria. We left entirely Gaza. We’ve not only frozen settlements, we’ve uprooted entire settlements. We’ve released hundreds of terrorist prisoners, including dozens in recent months. And when you look at what we got in return, it’s been scores of suicide bombings, thousands of rockets on our cities fired from the areas we vacated, and just incessant Palestinian incitement against Israel. So Israel has been doing its part, and I regret to say that the Palestinians haven’t.

"Now, I know this flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but it’s the truth. And the people of Israel know that it’s the truth because they’ve been living it. What they want is peace. What we all want fervently is peace. Not a piece a paper — although that, too — but a real peace; a peace that is anchored in mutual recognition of two nation states that recognize and respect one another, and solid security arrangements on the ground.

"... The Palestinians expect us to recognize a Palestinian state for the Palestinian people, a nation state for the Palestinian people. I think it’s about time they recognize a nation state for the Jewish people. We’ve only been there for 4,000 years."

Obama Administration Tells Israel to Stop Assassinating Iranian Nuclear Scientists and Focus on the Palestine Peace Process

On March 3, 2014, the Associated Press reported:

U.S. officials have reportedly told Israel to stop killing off Iranian nuclear scientists. Israel's Moussad spy agency has supposedly taken out [mostly with car bombs] at least five top Iranian nuclear experts in an attempt to slow the country’s nuclear program and continues to do so despite recent agreements reached to end the country’s nuclear ambitions....

Israel has never publicly acknowledged the program,... but it was designed to slow the rogue nation’s nuclear progress, as well as "deter trained and educated Iranians from joining their country's nuclear program." ...

An unidentified U.S. official disclosed the program to CBS while claiming the Obama administration is leaning on its Middle Eastern ally to stop the targeted killings and wait for the current deal to disarm to play out.

Obama Administration Says Palestinians Do Not Need to Commit to Recognizing Israel's Legitimate Existence

On March 8, 2014, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, stated in an interview with the Al-Quds newspaper that “[T]here is no need for the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. The American stance is clear in that it recognizes Israel as a Jewish state, but there is no need for the Palestinians to recognize it as such in a final agreement.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Says Israel Cannot Depend on U.S., Which Projects "Weakness" 

On March 18, 2014, Israeli defense minister Moshe Yaalon cited the recent crisis in Ukraine (where the Russian military had seized control of Crimea) as an example of the Obama administration "showing weakness." He also said, "We had thought it would be the United States that would lead the campaign against Iran" and its nuclear program. But Yaalon lamented that although "people know Iran cheats," the United States and other nations had elected to negotiate with Tehran. "Therefore, on this matter, we have to behave as though we have nobody to look out for us but ourselves," Yaalon said.

The Obama Administration Recognizes the Palestinians' New "Unity Government" Uniting Fatah and Hamas

On June 2, 2014, the Palestinians formed a new “government of national unity” led by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and backed by Hamas. The Washington Post described the move, which effectively united Fatah and Hamas, as “a significant step toward ending a seven-year feud between the Palestinian political factions that separately control the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.”

Within five hours of the Palestinians' announcement that a new unity government had been established, the U.S. State Department declared its willingness to work with it. This contradicted Obama's assertion during his 2008 presidential run, when he called Hamas a “terrorist organization” and said that “we should not be dealing with them until they recognize Israel, renounce terrorism and abide by previous agreements.” Israel's reaction to the Obama administration's new position was one of bitterness and anger:

• Public radio reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu felt “betrayed and deceived” by the U.S., particularly in light of the fact that Secretary of State John Kerry had promised him that Washington would not recognize the new government immediately.
• A senior political official quoted by the Israel Hayom freesheet, widely regarded as Prime Minister Netanyahu's mouthpiece, stated that the American move was “like a knife in the back.”
• Netanyahu himself then said: “I’m deeply troubled by the announcement that the United States will work with the Palestinian government backed by Hamas.... All those who genuinely seek peace must reject President Abbas’ embrace of Hamas, and most especially, I think the United States must make it absolutely clear to the Palestinian president that his pact with Hamas, a terrorist organization that seeks Israel’s liquidation, is simply unacceptable.”
• The Israeli ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, said that Israel was “deeply disappointed” that America had decided to recognize a government that legitimized Hamas, an organization “committed to our [Israel's] destruction.” “With suits in the front office and terrorists in the back office, it should not be business as usual,” said Dermer.
• Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said: “I have to say I do not understand this American announcement. You cannot present it as a Hamas government internally, then present it publicly as a government of technocrats. If these [ministers] are people who identify with Hamas, Hamas identifies with them and appointed them, then they are representatives of Hamas. This is a Hamas government, and Hamas is a terror organization.”
• Israeli Communications Minister Gilad Erdan said: “Unfortunately, American naivety has broken all records. Collaborating with Hamas, which is defined as a terror organization in the United States, is simply unthinkable. U.S. capitulation to Palestinian tactics badly damages the chance of ever returning to negotiations and will cause Israel to take unilateral steps to defend its citizens from the government of terror which Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] has set up.”

Obama Official Makes Speech Critical of Israel

On July 9, 2014 in Tel Aviv, Philip Gordon -- the White House Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa, and the Gulf Region -- delivered thekeynote address at the Haaretz Conference on Peace—a speech described byThe Times of Israel as “a blistering attack on Israeli foreign policy.” Earlier that day, and throughout the preceding several days as well, Hamas andIslamic Jihad terrorists had been busy launching hundreds of rockets from Gaza into a number of Israeli cities—including Tel Aviv—setting off air-raid sirens and driving millions of residents into bomb shelters.

Against this backdrop, Gordon appealed to Israeli and Palestinian leaders to make the compromises necessary for a permanent peace agreement. He stated, for example, that Israel's government in Jerusalem “should not take for granted” the “opportunity” it had to negotiate such a treaty with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, “who has shown time and again that he is committed to nonviolence and coexistence with Israel.” “While walls and missile defense systems can help protect against some threats,” Gordonexpanded, “true safety for both sides will only come with a comprehensive negotiated settlement” resulting in the creation of “two states” with “permanent” borders “based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps.”

Echoing Secretary of State John Kerry's and President Obama's previously articulated assertions that Israel would find itself increasingly isolated by the international community if it failed to make peace with the Palestinians, Gordon drew a moral equivalence between the two warring parties: “[W]e have no interest in a blame game. The unfortunate reality is that neither side prepared their publics or proved ready to make the difficult decisions required for an agreement. And trust has been eroded on both sides. Until it is restored, neither side will likely be ready to take risks for peace, even if they live with the dire consequences that resolve from its absence.” “[T]here has clearly been far too much recrimination and some reprehensible examples of racism on both sides,” Gordon added.

Moreover, Gordon lectured Israel on its duty to “confront” the “undeniablereality” that “it cannot maintain military control of another people indefinitely”; that “doing so is not only wrong but a recipe for resentment and recurring instability”; and that such a course of action “will embolden extremists on both sides, tear at Israel’s democratic fabric, and feed mutual dehumanization.”

Building upon that theme, Gordon reiterated the Obama administration's position that Israeli “settlements” in the West Bank were “illegitimate and an impediment to progress on peace negotiations.” “Just as Israelis built a state in their homeland,” he explained, “Palestinians have a right to be a sovereign, free, and secure people in their own land” as well, and to thereby “reach their full potential.”

Gordon also said that the U.S., as an ally of Israel, had some basic, yet difficult, questions for the Jewish state: “How will Israel remain democratic and Jewish if it attempts to govern the millions of Palestinian Arabs who live in the West Bank? How will it have peace if it’s unwilling to delineate a border, end the occupation and allow for Palestinian sovereignty, security and dignity? How will we prevent other states from supporting Palestinian efforts in international bodies, if Israel is not seen as committed to peace?”

Obama Urges Israeli Restraint Against Hamas Terrorists

On July 20, 2014 -- while Israel was in the midst of a miltary operation designed to destroy the massive network of underground missile storage-and-transport tunnels that Hamas had created throughout Gaza -- President Obama called Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to a statement from the White House, Obama “reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself [but] also raised serious concern about the growing number of casualties, including increasing Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza and the loss of Israeli soldiers.”

Obama Administration Delays Assisting Israel's Effort to Find the Remains of Dead IDF Solder

On October 21, 2014, Israel scholar Caroline Glick wrote:

[I]n an article published [on October 14] in The Jerusalem Post, terrorism analyst and investigative reporter Steven Emerson revealed how the highest echelons of the administration blocked the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office from assisting Israel in finding the remains of IDF soldier Oron Shaul. Shaul was one of seven soldiers from the Golani Infantry Brigade killed July 20 when Hamas terrorists fired a rocket at their armored personnel carrier in Gaza’s Shejeia neighborhood. As Emerson related, after stealing his remains, Hamas terrorists hacked into Shaul’s Facebook page and posted announcements that he was being held by Hamas.

Among other things it did to locate Shaul and ascertain whether or not he was still alive, the IDF formally requested that the FBI intervene with Facebook to get the IP address of the persons who posted on Oron’s page. If such information was acquired quickly, the IDF might be able to locate Oron, or at least find people with knowledge of his whereabouts.

Acting in accordance with standing practice, recognizing that time was of the essence, the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office began working on Israel’s request immediately. But just before the US Attorney secured a court order to Facebook requiring it to hand over the records, the FBI was told to end its efforts. In an order that senior law enforcement officials told Emerson came from Attorney General Eric Holder’s office, the FBI was told that it needed to first sign an “MLAT,” a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with Israel, a procedure that would take weeks to complete, and is generally used in cases involving criminal prosecutions and other non-life threatening issues.

As a result of these delays, Israel was unable to even begin negotiating with Hamas for the return of Shaul's body parts until at least the third week of October 2014.

Obama Administration Condemns Israel's Shelling of a UN School

On July 30, 2014 -- with Israel still conducting its anti-terror campaugn in Gaza -- the Obama administration condemned Israel's deadly shelling (killing 17 people) of a United Nations school in Gaza which was sheltering displaced Palestinians. "We are extremely concerned that thousands of internally displaced Palestinians who have been called on by the Israeli military to evacuate their homes are not safe in UN designated shelters in Gaza," said Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the White House's National Security Council. She also condemned "those responsible for hiding weapons in the United Nations facilities in Gaza" — a nod to Israel's contention that Hamas was storing arms in those facilities.

On July 31, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said:

“The Israeli military can and should do more to protect the lives of those innocent civilians. There is a difference in approach between what Hamas is perpetrating on the Israeli people and what Israel is doing to defend their country. But the shelling of a U.N. facility that is housing innocent civilian who are fleeting violence is totally unacceptable and totally indefensible. It is clear that we need our allies in Israel to do more to live up to to the high standards that they have set for themselves....

“We have steadfastly defended Israel’s right to take the actions that they feel necessary to protect their people and to defend their turf. The steps that they have taken have also been taken with the standards that they put in place to protect the lives of innocent civilians. That stands in pretty stark contrast to the approach adopted by Hamas that is actually using their military might to target innocent Israeli civilians.

“The observation I think many across the globe have made is despite those high standards, there are innocent Palestinian lives being lost. What we are simply asking the Israelis to do, in fact urging the Israelis to do, is to do more to live up to the standards that they have set for their own military operations to protect the lives of innocent civilians.”

Obama Administration Condemns Israel's Shelling of Another UN School

In early August 2014, after 10 Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli shelling outside a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) school in Rafah, wherein some 3,000 displaced persons were being sheltered, the Obama administration called the incident “totally unacceptable and totally indefensible.” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki demanded that Israel do “more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties.” Added Psaki: “The United States is appalled by today’s disgraceful shelling outside an UNRWA school in Rafah sheltering some 3,000 displaced persons, in which at least 10 more Palestinian civilians were tragically killed.” Addressing the Israeli military's assertion that it was responding to mortar bombs that had been fired from near the school by Palestinians, Psaki said: “The suspicion that militants are operating nearby does not justify strikes that put at risk the lives of so many innocent civilians.”

Netanyahu Tells U.S. Not to "Second-Guess" Him on Hamas

Also in early August 2014, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advised the Obama administration "not to ever second guess me again" on the matter of dealing with Hamas.

State Department Says Israel Must "Do More" to Avoid Civilian Casualties

On August 4, 2014, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that there was "more that Israel can do to hold themselves to their own standards" in terms of not harming civilians in the battle against Hamas. "Every day," she explained, "the world is watching as innocent civilians are killed, as children are having shrapnel pulled out of their back. I think we can all look to make an evaluation that there's more that can be done."

Obama Withholds Weapons Shipments to Israel

In August 2014 -- in the midst of an Israeli war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip -- President Obama issued a directive stipulating that any Israeli request for weapons, however large or small that request might be, must not be fulfilled without his personal prior approval. In accordance with that order, Obama canceled at least two arms shipments to Israel that the Pentagon had previously approved (in July), and he suspended the transfer of AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles to the Israeli Air Force. These were vitalweapons whose sophisticated guidance systems enabled the Air Force to destroy missile-launchers in Gaza with a minimum amount of collateral damage.

Israel scholar Caroline Glick explained that the Obama administration "didn’t reject Israel’s request," but "just added a level of bureaucracy to the handling of the request that made it impossible for Israel to receive assistance from the US government in real time." Or, as State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf put it at the time: “We’re not holding anything. A hold indicates, technically, that you are not moving forward on making a decision about a transfer…. These requests are still moving forward; there’s just additional steps in the process now, and there’s been no policy decision made to not move forward with them…. They’re just going to take a little while longer.”

A U.S. official stated with displeasure: “It is unprecedented that the president approve every item in a military-to-military relationship, but this is exactly what has been decided.” “The president felt that his efforts to achieve a ceasefire was being undermined by U.S. weapons deliveries to Israel,” said a White House official. “Now, nothing moves without his approval, and that means everything will be slowed down.”

A Wall Street Journal analysis said: “Today, many administration officials say the Gaza conflict — the third between Israel and Hamas in under six years — has persuaded them that Mr. Netanyahu and his national security team are both reckless and untrustworthy. The White House and State Department have sought to regain greater control over U.S.-Israeli policy.”

The Hellfire missiles, along with other ammunition Israel requested during the war, eventually arrived in September 2014 — a month after a cease-fire had been agreed upon and implemented.

Obama Says Israel Must "Find a Way" to "Recognize" the "Legitimate Claims" of the Palestinians

In an August 2014, interview with New York Times Op-Ed columnist Thomas Friedman, Obama said: "[B]ecause Israel is so capable militarily, I don’t worry about Israel’s survival.... I think the question really is how does Israel survive? And how can you create a State of Israel that maintains its democratic and civic traditions? How can you preserve a Jewish state that is also reflective of the best values of those who founded Israel? And, in order to do that, it has consistently been my belief that you [meaning Israel] have to find a way to live side by side in peace with Palestinians.... You [meaning Israel] have to recognize that they have legitimate claims, and this is their land and neighborhood as well.”

Obama Says "Too Many Israelis" Are "Ready to Abandon the Hard Work of Peace"; Draws Moral Equivalence Between Israeli and Palestinian Deaths

In a September 23, 2014 address to the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama said: "The violence engulfing the region today has made too many Israelis ready to abandon the hard work of peace. And that’s something worthy of reflection within Israel. Because let’s be clear: the status quo in the West Bank and Gaza is not sustainable. We cannot afford to turn away from this effort – not when rockets are fired at innocent Israelis, or the lives of so many Palestinian children are taken from us in Gaza." Notably, he made no mention of the fact that Hamas, in its recently waged war against Israel, had forced its own civilians, against their will, to serve as human shields. Nor did he mention that Hamas routinely used schools, hospitals, and residential neighborhoods as storehouses and launching pads for its missiles and other weaponry -- thereby greatly increasing the likelihood of civilians in those places being killed in the course of battle.

Obama Administration Rejects Netanyahu's Assessment of ISIS

In late September 2014, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki indicatedthat Israel and the United States were not on the same page regarding the scope of Islamic terror. The rift centeed around Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s September 29 speech at the United Nations, during which he insisted that terrorist groups such as ISIS, Hamas, the Iranian regime, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram all shared the same vision. "Some are radical Sunnis, some are radical Shi’ites." Added Netanyahu: "Some want to restore a pre-medieval caliphate from the 7th century. Others want to trigger the apocalyptic return of an imam from the 9th century. They operate in different lands, they target different victims and they even kill each other in their quest for supremacy. But they all share a fanatic ideology. They all seek to create ever expanding enclaves of militant Islam where there is no freedom and no tolerance, where women are treated as chattel, Christians are decimated, and minorities are subjugated, sometimes given the stark choice: convert or die. For them, anyone can be an infidel, including fellow Muslims."

When Psaki was subsequently asked if the Obama White House agreed with Netanyahu’s argument, she replied: "We would not agree with that characterization, no." Pressed on Netanyahu’s contention that ISIS and Hamas were cut from the same cloth, Psaki once again balked. She conceded that both groups were U.S.-designated terrorist organizations, but insisted that ISIS "poses a different threat to Western interests and to the United States. And that’s just a fact." Psaki continued: “We don’t believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu or anyone else from Israel is suggesting that the United States launch a military campaign against Hamas, so we certainly – they are both designated terrorist organizations under the United States designations, but certainly we see differences in terms of the threat and otherwise."

Obama Draws Moral Equivalence Between Israeli and Palestinian Deaths in the Recent Israel-Hamas War

In an October 1, 2014 meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Obama -- referencing the recent six-week war between Israel and Hamas -- said that Israeli and Palestinian leaders must "find ways to change the status quo so that both Israel citizens are safe in their own homes, and schoolchildren in their schools, from the possibility of rocket fire, but also that we don't have the tragedy of Palestinian children being killed as well."