(Ynet).US officials assured Defense Minister Ehud Barak during the latter's visit to Washington that the Obama administration is not trying to topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government,Barak discussed this with Netanyahu in his meeting with the Prime Minister on Friday following the former's return from Washington.
The string of meetings held at such a sensitive time in US-Israeli relations is testament to the Americans' desire to use the Labor chairman as their connection to the otherwise right-wing government. Barak was also told in his meetings that Washington does not expect peace to break out thanks to an Israeli declaration in favor of the two-state solution or Israel's willingness to freeze construction in the settlements and dismantle illegal outposts in the West Bank.
However, said senior Israeli sources who were briefed following Barak's return, the US officials also stressed that the aforementioned Israeli gestures are inevitable given the current reality. Doing so would aid in creating a moderate Arab alliance that would support efforts to tackle the Iranian nuclear threat, and that would allow the completion of US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
