Leon Panetta, Secretary of the Department of Defense (DOD), called for Israel to “get to the damn table” with Palestinean leaders in order to bring about peace between the two parties, but he added that the United States will support Israel’s military in the absence of peace.
Asked “What steps should [Israel] take” to pursue peace, Panetta said last night that Israel must “Just get to the damn table.” His questioner recommended that Israel “withdraw the Israeli army from the Palestinian territories.”
“The problem right now is we can’t get them to the damn table to at least sit down and begin to discuss their differences – you know, we all know what the pieces are here for a potential agreement,” Panetta added in apparent frustration. “If they sit at a table and work through those concerns, and the United States can be of assistance in that process, then I think you have the beginning of what could be a process that would lead to a peace agreement.”
He concluded by saying that “if they aren’t at the table, this will never happen. So first and foremost, get to the damn table.”
The Tehran Times (Iran), founded in 1979 as “a loud voice of the Islamic Revolution,” observed that Panetta “us[ed] his trademark colorful language to call on Israel to return to the negotiating table.”
Panetta, who noted that “there is an international campaign underway to isolate Israel,” also called for Israel to approach Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan in order to “mend fences” with those countries. “If gestures [from Israel] are rebuked, the world will see those rebukes for what they are,” he said. “That is exactly why Israel should pursue them.”
Reminded that Islamists just won significant parliamentary victories in Egypt’s first round of elections, Panetta warned against “jump[ing] to conclusions,” saying that we need to let this play out a little bit. This is the first part of a rolling election.” He also affirmed that the United States will “continue to put pressure” on the Egyptian government to make sure they “abide by the commitment to respect the treaty that was signed with Israel and that they abide by the other redlines that we’ve established with regards to Egypt.”
In the meantime, Isral will receive military support from the United States. “The United States will ensure that Israel continues to enjoy unquestioned air superiority by delivering to Israel the advanced fifth-generation fighter aircraft, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter,” Panetta declared, adding that “the United States will continue to have some 40,000 troops in the region to support” stability in the Middle East.
