Obama 'to turn on Israel after midterm elections'

JERUSALEM – Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "shaking from fear" about the policies that President Obama will enact toward Israel after this week's midterm elections, a senior Palestinian Authority official told WND.

The PA official, as well as security sources in Egypt and Jordan, said they heard from the Obama administration an outline of a series of moves to pressure Israel after the Nov. 2 vote.

Among the moves would be holding back support for Israel when it comes to future resolutions condemning the Jewish state at the United Nations.

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Also, the U.S. is likely to tacitly back a Palestinian threat to unilaterally declare a state at the U.N. Security Council if Netanyahu fails to reach an agreement with the PA.

The sources said the Obama administration has already quietly dropped U.S. opposition to PA President Mahmoud Abbas forging a unity deal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

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Until now, the U.S. has publicly taken a policy of isolating Hamas, a terrorist organization, although there have been recent signs of U.S. rapprochement toward the Islamic group. Netanyahu had argued Hamas stood in the way of a pan-Palestinian future settlement.

The PA and Middle East sources said that Obama is joining a chorus of European Union officials in demanding that Israel evacuate almost the entire West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem in a future deal with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu wants to keep what are known as the main settlement blocks – Ariel, Gush Etzion and Maale Adumin, a position mostly supported by the U.S. government. Now there are signs the Obama administration will call for Israel to evacuate the large town of Ariel in any settlement with the Palestinians, the sources told WND.

Last week, WND quoted a PA official stating that White House officials told the Palestinians that President Obama is waiting until after the Nov. 2 midterm elections to press Israel harder for a deal to create a Palestinian state. 

An extensive poll released earlier this month showed a growing number of Americans support Israel over the Palestinians and will vote for political candidates based on their stance regarding the Jewish state.

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The survey, commissioned by the Emergency Committee for Israel, showed 53 percent of Americans are more likely to vote for a candidate they perceive as being "pro-Israel." Fifty-four percent said that even if they agreed with a candidate on important domestic issues, they could not vote for him or her if the candidate were "anti-Israel."

Some 93.5 percent of Americans believe that the U.S. should be concerned about Israel's security. Also, 42.7 percent of Americans said they believe Obama's Middle East policies harm Israel's security, and only 29.6 percent believe that Obama is improving Israel's security situation.

Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline Glick pointed out that Israel is becoming an issue in senatorial and congressional races.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., has been taking heat for her record on Israel from Republican opponent Joel Pollak, who has made Schakowsky's record on Israel a pillar of his campaign.

Seven-term New Jersey Democratic Rep. Rush Holt has been attacked by Republican challenger Scott Sipprelle over his ties to J Street, a George-Soros-funded lobby group accused of anti-Israel activism.

In Florida, Democratic Rep. Ron Klein is trailing Republican Allen West in a close race, according to a recent poll.

"Although Klein is Jewish and West is African-American, West has been running to Klein's right on Israel to great effect," noted Glick.

Klein has also been tied to J Street.