Romney Jerusalem remarks 'harm US interests': Palestinians

[ProSense]

Romney Jerusalem remarks 'harm US interests': Palestinians

US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's endorsement of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is "harmful" to US interests in the Middle East, a senior Palestinian official said on Sunday.

"Romney's declarations are harmful to American interests in our region, and they harm peace, security and stability," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP.

"Even if this statement is within the US election campaign, it is unacceptable and we completely reject it. The US election campaign should never be at the expense of the Palestinians," he said.

"Romney is rewarding occupation, settlement and extremism in the region with such declarations."

At a speech in Jerusalem, Romney on Sunday hailed Jerusalem as Israel's capital, in an apparent endorsement of a position held by the Jewish state but never accepted by the international community.

- more -

http://news.yahoo.com/romney-jerusalem-remarks-harm-us-interests-palestinians-192415718.html

Haaretz Headline: "...it was Romney's voice but Netanyahu's words"

by hungrycoyote

There's a diary on the Recommended List (Netanhayu Already Dictating to RomneyPuppet. Opposition Meeting Cancelled Suddenly) that implies that Netanhayu was influential over the optics of Romney's visit to Israel. My jaw just dropped when I saw this headline from Haaretz on the Google News Feed:



The article goes on to explain that the audience for the speech was carefully chosen:

Romney's staff picked the 150 guests carefully. Religious American immigrants dominated the crowd; secular Jews and native-born Israelis were few and far between. Those present included Jewish-American millionaires, settler leaders like the former chairman of the Yesha Council of settlements Israel Harel, and former Netanyahu aides such as Dore Gold, Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked and Yoaz Hendel.

(snip)

Romney read his speech from two teleprompters that were placed opposite the stage, but compared to Obama, Romney seemed gray and uncharismatic. Even from this hand-picked, extremely friendly audience, he wasn't able to extract thunderous applause.

The speech itself sounded as if it could have been written by Netanyahu's bureau. So it's no surprise that when the two met later for dinner, Netanyahu thanked him for his "support for Israel and Jerusalem."

In Jerusalem speech, it was Romney's voice but Netanyahu's words

Always cautious, ever calculating cost-benefits for every move he makes, how many votes does Romney think that he gained by making this speech?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/29/1114880/-Haaretz-Headline-it-was-Romney-s-voice-but-Netanyahu-s-words

Romney: I will Put Netanyahu First and America Second - No Kidding
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021041042

[liberal N proud]

1. Romney would be a Netanyahu puppet.

[aquart]

4. What utter nonsense.

Bigotry continues to gallop at DU.

[liberal N proud]

6. Where is the bigotry in that statement?

He said he would call his good friend.

Too bad we can't have an honest discussion involving anything Israel without this kind of response.

[monmouth]

8. I suspected this would happen, now I'm sure you are correct..He just lost IMO..n/t

[nc4bo]

2. There will be a clusterfuck of unknown proportions if this pos becomes POTUS.

Romney is not to be trusted, neither are the people he represents.

[Jessy169]

3. Romney is Adelson's puppet, bought and paid for

and Adelson despite being an American citizen has made very clear that his primary loyalties are with Israel.

[spanone]

7. i doubt mr romney knows or cares much about the palestinians....

they don't have a sheldon adelson

[Douglas Carpenter]

9. thank you for posting this, Whenever irresponsible American politicians make crazy statements in

regards to the Israel/Palestine conflict it harms America's national interest, destabilizes the Middle East, hands terrorism a victory on a silver platter and makes a resolution to this conflict all the more difficult.