Given the brittle relations between the Obama administration and Israel, even truth-telling can ignite a firestorm. That happened this week when Daniel Shapiro, Washington’s ambassador to Israel, delivered a speech that drew unfair rebukes from Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his right-wing government, reported the New York Times.

Speaking at a security conference, Mr. Shapiro said, correctly, that Israel’s quick-moving expansion of settlements on Palestinian lands “raises honest questions about Israel’s long-term intentions” and commitment to a two-state solution.

What really enraged his critics was an observation that during a time of increased violence in Israel and the West Bank, “Too many attacks on Palestinians lack a vigorous investigation or response by Israeli authorities, too much vigilantism goes unchecked, and at times there seem to be two standards of adherence to the rule of law: one for Israelis and another for Palestinians.”

A statement from Mr. Netanyahu’s office denounced the second comment as “unacceptable and incorrect”, added the paper.

Israel is moving quickly to establish facts on the ground that preclude a Palestinian state, leaving Palestinians increasingly marginalized and despairing. “It is starting to look like a de facto annexation,” one American official said.

In a speech last month, Secretary of State John Kerry warned that violence, settlement-building and demolitions of Palestinian homes were “imperiling the viability of a two-state solution.” He said the number of settlers had increased by tens of thousands in five years. Thousands of Palestinian homes are said to be pending demolition, added the paper.

Source: MENA