Clinton with Egypt agreement in hand, approcahes Netanyahu with “green light” on Iran?

Clinton to Israel: Arab Spring an opportunity
July 17, 2012 – Reuters – The Daily Star

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, arriving in Jerusalem from Egypt, told a wary Israel Monday to treat the Arab Spring as an opportunity as well as a source of uncertainty convulsing the Middle East.

It was Clinton’s first visit to the Jewish state since U.S.-brokered peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis broke down in 2010 over Israel’s refusal to halt the building of settlements on land where Palestinians hope to found a state.

Since then, popular revolts across the Arab world have swept away the rulers of Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and Israel’s biggest neighbor Egypt, and unleashed a violent conflict in Syria.

The Jewish state is particularly worried about the rise of Islamists in place of ousted Arab autocrats, especially Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, who had guaranteed his country’s 1979 treaty with Israel, the first between Israel and an Arab country.

Clinton met Israeli leaders in occupied Jerusalem, fresh from a visit to Egypt where she became the most senior U.S. official to meet newly elected President Mohammad Mursi, from the long-banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Mursi told her Egypt would abide by its treaties.

At Clinton’s side, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Egypt “has been an anchor of peace and maintaining the peace treaty between us, I think, is something that is uppermost in both our minds.”

Clinton said before her talks with Netanyahu: “We are living in a time of unprecedented change with a lot of challenges for us both, and we will continue to consult closely, as we have on an almost daily basis, between our two governments, to chart the best way forward for peace and stability for Israel, the United States, the region and the world.”

Earlier she told President Shimon Peres that “it is in moments like these that friends like us have to think together, act together. We are called to be smart, creative and courageous.”

“It is a time of uncertainty but also of opportunity. It is a chance to advance our shared goal of security, stability, peace and democracy along with prosperity for the millions of people in this region who have yet to see a better future,” Clinton said after meeting Peres.

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