Texas governor turns Palestinian statehood bid into election issue, accusing Obama of siding with 'orchestrators of terrorism'
The confrontation over the Palestinian bid to win recognition as a state at the United Nations shifted to the US presidential race when Rick Perry, the leading Republican contender, accused Barack Obama of appeasing terrorists and betraying Israel.
Perry, at a campaign rally in New York, launched a stinging attack on Obama's handing of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, accusing him of abandoning America's ally in favour of the "Arab street" in the Egyptian revolution, as diplomatic wrangling continued to try to head off a showdown in the UN security council over the Palestinian request for statehood.
The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, was to meet the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the British foreign secretary, William Hague, on Tuesday as Europe spearheaded efforts to dissuade him from pursuing the UN move with promises to revive peace negotiations.
Obama has said the US will veto the Palestinian request – expected to be made on Friday – for the security council to recognise a state based on the land occupied since the 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The US president is also expected to speak out strongly against the move in his speech to the UN general assembly on Wednesday.
But Perry said that was not good enough, and blamed the president for bringing on the crisis by siding with the Palestinians over the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, and by saying the US would act as a neutral broker in talks.
Perry said: "The Obama policy of moral equivalence, which gives equal standing to the grievances of Israelis and the Palestinians, including the orchestrators of terrorism, is a very dangerous insult. There is no middle ground between our allies and those who seek their destruction.
"We see the American administration having a willingness to isolate a close ally, and to do so in a manner that is both insulting and naive."
Perry attacked Obama for his recent statement, which angered Israel, that any final peace agreement should be based on the borders that existed before the 1967 war, even though it is widely accepted that will be the basis of a deal.
"It was wrong for this administration to suggest the 1967 borders should be the starting point for Israel-Palestinian negotiations," Perry said. "The Obama administration put Israel in a position of weakness, taking away their flexibility to offer concessions as part of the negotiations process.
"Indeed, bolstered by the Obama administration's policies and the apologists at the UN, the Palestinians are exploiting instability in the Middle East, hoping to achieve their objective without concessions and direct negotiations with Israel."
Perry also criticised Obama's handling of the revolutions in the Middle East, particularly in abandoning support for the former Egyptian leader, Hosni Mubarak, who was a close ally of Israel.
The Texas governor spoke of the "risk posed by the new regime in Egypt", which is not as sympathetic to Israel.
"The Obama administration has appeased the Arab street at the expense of our national security," he said.
Perry's attack is part of a growing Republican assault on Obama's Israel policy as evidence he is weak, despite the administration's success in finding Osama bin Laden.
Israel can be a sensitive political issue in the US, in part because of considerable support for the Jewish state among Christian evangelical voters.
Jewish voters tend to overwhelmingly support Democratic presidential candidates, but unhappiness over US policy on Israel can have an impact in swing states, most notably Florida, and on congressional elections.
Last week, Democrats suffered an upset, losing a New York congressional election to the Republicans in a heavily Jewish constituency. Although several factors were at play, particularly high unemployment and economic stagnation, polls showed that among some Jewish voters there was significant disquiet about Obama's Israel policies.
More importantly, the issue is used by Obama's opponents to accuse him of being soft on America's enemies and incompetent.
Republicans in Congress are blaming the president for the Palestinian request to the security council because of a speech Obama made to the UN a year ago, in which he said he hoped to welcome a sovereign state of Palestine as a UN member by October 2010.
The Palestinians are portraying that statement as "Obama's promise". Republicans say it is further evidence that Obama is hostile to Israel.
Another leading presidential contender, Mitt Romney, last week said the Palestinian approach to the UN "is another testament of the president's failure of leadership".
Perry said that if the UN grants additional recognition to the Palestinians, the US should close the Palestinian Liberation Organisation office in Washington. Other Republicans want to go further, and cut of the more than $500m in aid the Palestinian Authority receives from the US each year.
The House of Representatives foreign affairs committee last week held a hearing on the issue in which the chairperson, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, called for aid to be cut.
Israel's deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, said at the UN on Tuesday that the Palestinians should be punished for taking the statehood bid to the security council.
"There should be consequences for irresponsible behaviour. There should be consequences for the Palestinians shutting the door on negotiations," he said.
In the West Bank, which the Palestinians want the UN to declare part of their state, a call to Jewish settlers to rally against the move flopped when only a few dozen attended a series of marches against the Palestinians' bid for statehood. Soldiers in riot gear watched as the protesters burned the Palestinian flag near Beit El, a settlement close to the Palestinian city of Ramallah.
"If the Palestinians want a state, they can go to Europe or the US – it's very nice there," said Michael Ben Ari, a member of the Israeli parliament. "This is the land of Israel and we are here forever."
Hardline settlers have stepped up attacks on Palestinians and their property in the runup to the UN meeting, according to the Palestinian media, amid fears on both sides that they are trying to provoke confrontations. The Israeli security forces have stockpiled tear gas, rubber bullets and foul-smelling water cannon in preparation for possible violent demonstrations.
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