No suprise here…

by Laryn

“And Israel”? It just keeps getting worse. And for Israel, it’s a whole new ballgame. Remember my “Reverse Shlep — Save the Jews” Tour to Florida, right before the election? Obama: Lethal for Israel…this administration does not represent America.

Clinton pledges to press for Palestinian state hat tip Choi

 JERUSALEM (Reuters) “ U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged on Tuesday to press hard for Palestinian statehood, putting Washington on a possible collision course with Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We happen to believe that moving toward a two-state solution is in Israel’s best interests,” Clinton told a news conference with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

Spencer has this:

As the Obama Administration pushes for a Palestinian jihad base — er, state, the Secretary of State implies that Israel is no longer a friend of the United States. “Clinton: US to ‘vigorously’ promote peace efforts,” by Matti Friedman for Associated Press, March 3 (thanks to Eu Wei Choi):

JERUSALEM – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised Tuesday to work with the incoming Israeli government, but delivered a clear message that could put her at odds with the country’s next leader: Movement toward the establishment of a Palestinian state is “inescapable.”
At the same time, Clinton said she would not dictate orders to Israel, saying the Jewish state would determine its interests. She also pledged “unrelenting” support for Israel’s security.

Clinton also said the U.S. would soon send two envoys to Syria for “preliminary conversations.” It was the most significant sign yet that the Obama administration is ready to mend relations with the Damascus regime. The U.S. withdrew its ambassador in 2005, accusing Syria of supporting terrorism.

“We have no way to predict what the future with our relations concerning Syria might be,” she told a Jerusalem news conference. “There has to be some perceived benefit of doing so for the United States and our allies and our shared values. But I think it is a worthwhile effort to go and begin these preliminary conversations.”

Clinton lamented that President Barack Obama’s attempts to reach out to Syrian ally Iran have so far been unsuccessful. The U.S. and Israel accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons and supporting anti-Israel militant groups.

Clinton, seeking to calm her Israeli hosts, said diplomacy should not be confused with softness.

“When we talk about engagement with Iran, do not be in any way confused, our goal remains the same: to dissuade and prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and continuing to fund terrorism,” she said. “Whatever we do will be done thoughtfully in consultation with our friends and Israel, most particularly Israel.”…

UPDATE: In case you missed Caroline Glick’s column, here’s an excerpt: Change has Come hat tip Chad

Provoked by the Palestinians’ escalating missile campaign, on Sunday evening the Ashkelon Parents Association voted not to send their children to school on Monday.

Ever since the outgoing Kadima government ended Operation Cast Lead in Gaza on January 20, the Palestinians have steadily stepped-up their missile war against Israel. Over the weekend the IDF acknowledged that six weeks later, daily Palestinian missile barrages against Israel have returned to pre-Operation Cast Lead levels. Moreover, the IDF warned that over the past six weeks, Hamas and its sister terror groups have rebuilt their missile arsenals both through imports of Iranian arms from Egypt and through local production lines. They have also brought in fairly advanced anti-aircraft missiles capable of shooting down IAF helicopters.

The proximate cause for the decision to close down schools was the weekend missile strike against a high school in Ashkelon. The direct hit caused massive damage both to the school and to surrounding apartments. IDF inspectors assessed that the Grad missile the Palestinians used in the attack had been locally upgraded. Its warhead was two and a half times bigger than usual.

As Ashkelon’s children settled into their living rooms instead of their classrooms on Monday morning, a few hundred kilometers to the south representatives from 80 countries and international organizations convened in Sharm el-Sheikh to pledge billions of dollars in aid to Hamas-controlled Gaza. The US, represented by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, pledged $900 million in assistance.

Also on Monday, The Jerusalem Post reported that the US is curtailing its military aid to Israel. Under new Pentagon guidelines, the Ministry of Defense must give a detailed accounting of how it uses every item it purchases with US aid money. As a consequence, the Defense Ministry issued new instructions to the IDF that from now Israel’s purchases from the US will be limited to defensive armaments and systems aimed at preserving its “qualitative edge” against its enemies.