Netanyahu plays down tensions with US

ISRAEL’S leader tried to play down tensions with the US yesterday after a rocky meeting at the White House last week, saying that relations with Washington remain solid.

In his first public comments on the matter, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet that Israel and the US can work out their differences.

“The relationship between Israel and the US is one between allies and friends, and it’s a relationship based on years of tradition,” Netanyahu said. “Even if there are disagreements, these are disagreements between friends, and that’s how they will stay.”

The US has criticised Israeli construction in east Jerusalem – the section of the holy city claimed by the Palestinians. It has asked Israel for gestures toward the Palestinians to help relaunch peace talks, which were about to start earlier this month when the latest spat over settlements broke out.

The planned negotiations were thrown into doubt after Israel announced plans to build 1,600 new apartments for Jews in east Jerusalem. Israel made the announcement while Vice President Joe Biden was visiting, drawing sharp condemnations from Washington and calls to cancel the construction plans.

Netanyahu, who has consistently rejected calls for any halt to building in Jerusalem, got a chilly reception at the White House last week. He gave no sign of giving in to the US demand or resolving the dispute by the time he left.

Netanyahu was to discuss the matter with his cabinet ministers at their weekly meeting yesterday, and told reporters before the meeting that he had taken “certain steps in order to narrow the gaps”.

No details from the reportedly tense Obama-Netanyahu meeting have been made public.

In Washington, David Axelrod, a top adviser to President Barack Obama, said yesterday the relationship with Israel remains strong, adding that sometimes blunt talk is part of friendship.

Palestinian officials said they were told by US officials that the US is still pushing Netanyahu for concessions.

Israel said it was imposing a closure on the West Bank as a security measure for the week-long Passover holiday. The measure, which was to begin at midnight, bars almost all Palestinians from entering Israel.