Via Reuters…
US envoy George Mitchell today assured Israel that the United States would remain its close ally despite differences over Jewish settlements and peacemaking with the Palestinians.
Mitchell told President Shimon Peres his goal was to create conditions for “prompt resumption and early conclusion” of talks leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state “side by side in peace and security with the Jewish state of Israel”.
US President Barack Obama, who sent Mitchell back to the Middle East, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are at odds over settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and the Israeli leader’s reluctance to endorse Palestinian statehood.
“Let me be clear. These are not disagreements among adversaries. The United States and Israel are and will remain close allies and friends,” Mitchell said.