02/06/2009 Israel tried to play down US President Barack Obama’s indication on Monday that he would be more willing to criticize Israel than previous administrations have been, and he reiterated his call for a freeze of Israeli settlements on the eve of a high-profile Middle East trip, warning the Jewish state of "profoundly negative" trends in the region.
 
While some Israeli officials glossed over the harsh remarks from the president, others said his administration should honor understandings struck with the preceding administration of President George W. Bush.
 
In an interview with National Public Radio, Obama vowed to sustain close ties with Israel but said the status quo in the region was "unsustainable," and put the interests of both countries at risk. "Part of being a good friend is being honest," Obama told the US radio broadcaster.
 
"I think there have been times where we are not as honest as we should be about the fact that the current direction, the current trajectory, in the region is profoundly negative, not only for Israeli interests but also US interests," Obama said. "That's part of a new dialogue that I'd like to see encouraged in the region."
 
“We do have to retain a constant belief in the possibilities of negotiations that will lead to peace,” he added. “I’ve said that a freeze on settlements is part of that.”
 
US-ISRAELI RELATIONS ON THE VERGE OF ABYSS
Diplomatic conflict has been taking place recently between Israel and its long-time ally, the US, despite the fact that former Israeli army Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz had warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against engaging in a discord with the United States.
 
Obama’s comments, on the eve of his first trip as president to the Middle East, where he is scheduled to give a speech to the Muslim world in Cairo on Thursday, were made as Israeli officials dug in their heels against a settlement freeze. Netanyahu said Monday that halting construction in settlements in the occupied West Bank would be equal to “freezing life,” and, therefore, “unreasonable.”
 
A senior MP with Netanyahu's right-wing Likud, Environment Minister Gilad Erdan, shot back that Obama had to honor agreements on the settlements reached with the previous US administration. Erdan was referring to a 2004 letter from Bush to then prime minister Ariel Sharon.
  
Bush said that “given the existence of major Israeli settlement blocs in the West Bank, it was "unrealistic" to expect Israel to fully withdraw from the territory it captured from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War.”
 
Obama leaves Wednesday morning for a five-day trip to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Germany and France. Israel is not on his itinerary.