Senior Palestinian Authority (PA) officials have been intently monitoring the American reaction to the crisis between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Israel’s moves surrounding Netanyahu’s speech March 3 before the US Congress. As far as they are concerned, the current crisis could herald a change in the rules of the game, for them, too.
Meanwhile, both in Israel and elsewhere, those who were concerned by the possibility that defense aid to Israel would be curtailed because of the Obama-Netanyahu rift have realized that despite the overt differences, the road to US sanctions against Israel is still a long way off. Obama continually conveys, including in an interview he gave after Netanyahu's address before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, that while there are genuine disputes with the prime minister concerning Iran’s nuclear project, his commitment to Israel nonetheless remains unwavering.
