Add Susan Rice to the list of top Obama Administration officials who blame Israel for the lack of peace in the Middle East.
At the Middle East Institute last week, Rice proclaimed, “We have seen increased tensions on the ground. Some of this is a result of recent settlement announcements. So let me reiterate: The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity.” In essence, Rice seemed to blame last week’s brutal murder by a Palestinian terrorist of an 18-year old Israeli soldier on Israel’s home building activities.
Rice is infamously known for appearing on the major network news Sunday shows following the murders of four Americans in terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012 and chalking their deaths up to incitement caused by a YouTube video.
Recently, Secretary of State John Kerry lectured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the status of Israeli homes in the disputed West Bank territory. While Kerry was busy deeming the settlements as “illegitimate”, Palestinian students at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem held a Nazi-like rally in which they called for the destruction of the Jewish State.
In addition to the hostile positions held by Administration officials on the disputed West Bank territory, newly appointed UN Ambassador Samantha Power previously advocated for US intervention by means of a “mammoth” American military force to resolve disputes in the area. Similarly, in 2009, now-Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel signed onto a statement lobbying for a 60,000 NATO troop deployment into the West Bank that would cost the US taxpayer an estimated 160 Billion dollars.
President Obama also rejects the Israeli “occupation” of the West Bank. During a recent speech at the UN General Assembly, the President cautioned, “The occupation of the West Bank is tearing at the democratic fabric of Israel.”