Diplomacy

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Hillary Clinton: I Will Invite Netanyahu to the White House in My First Month as President

Democratic presidential frontrunner and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed strong support for Israel in an op-ed published Wednesday in The Forward, promising that if elected, she would invite the Israeli prime minister to Washington during her first month in office.

Clinton cited her record on Israel as a senator and Secretary of State, including fighting incitement in Palestinian textbooks, supporting the inclusion of Israel’s Magen David Adom in the International Red Cross, and opposing the “biased” Goldstone report on the 2008-09 Gaza War. She then outlined the ways that a Clinton presidency would support Israel and oppose Iranian expansionism.

I am deeply committed to Israel’s future as a secure and democratic Jewish state, and just as convinced that the only way to guarantee that outcome is through diplomacy. And while no solution can be imposed from outside, I believe the United States has a responsibility to help bring Israelis and Palestinians to the table and to encourage the difficult but necessary decisions that will lead to peace. As president I will never stop working to advance the goal of two states for two peoples living in peace, security and dignity.

I will do everything I can to enhance our strategic partnership and strengthen America’s security commitment to Israel, ensuring that it always has the qualitative military edge to defend itself. That includes immediately dispatching a delegation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to meet with senior Israeli commanders. I would also invite the Israeli prime minister to the White House in my first month in office.

The dangers facing both our nations in the Middle East require bold and united responses. We must remain committed to preventing Iran from ever acquiring a nuclear weapon, and to vigorously enforcing the new nuclear agreement. I would move to step up our partnership to confront Iran and its proxies across the region, and make sure dangerous Russian and Iranian weapons don’t end up in Hezbollah’s hands or threaten Israel. I also will combat growing efforts to isolate Israel internationally and to undermine its future as a Jewish state, including the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. I’ve spoken out against BDS in the United States and at the U.N., and will continue to do so.

Clinton’s op-ed reiterated elements of a major foreign policy speech she gave two months ago at the Brookings Institution, in which she promised to strengthen ties with Israel—including inviting the Israeli prime minister to Washington during her first month in office—and defend American allies and interests against Iranian aggression.

Last month, in a departure with current White House policy, Clinton called for the removal of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and the creation of a no-fly zone as a means of protecting civilians from the ravages the country’s ongoing civil war. She also issued a statement calling for an unconditional stop to Palestinian terror against Israel.

[Photo: Avi Ohayon/ GPO / Flash90 ]