Clinton Supporters Call on Her to Ensure Obama Refrains From Any Diplomatic Moves Against Israel

Hillary Clinton supporters must call on the Democratic presidential nominee to ensure President Barack Obama refrains from making any diplomatic moves against Israel during the remainder of his time in office, a prominent conservative columnist said on Thursday.

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In a video interview with the Wall Street Journalpublished on Thursday, Jonathan Schanzer — vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) think tank in Washington, DC — said Obama was considering six different “punitive measures” aimed at “score settling” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Obama’s choices, Schanzer said, range from “recognizing a Palestinian state to a UN Security Council resolution that details parameters for the peace process, or perhaps I think even more likely a UN Security Council resolution against settlements.”

“If those fail,” Schanzer continued, “then we think that there could be a Rose Garden speech or some other parameters speech that the president delivers in the last several months of his presidency. They’re also apparently weighing the option of sanctions, or at least barring organizations that support settlements through IRS regulations.”

If Obama moves ahead with any of these moves and Clinton wins the election, Schanzer said, “it will appear as if this was done with her acknowledgement, with her acceptance. And of course if Mr. Trump wins, this would be a way to sort of trip him up right from the beginning in terms of reestablishing ties with Israel.”