U.S.-Israeli relationship takes new direction

By Jeffrey Heller

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Pressure. Defiance. Collision. After George W. Bush's terms of endearment for Israel -- a country he once described as a "light unto nations" -- a different terminology is being used to describe its cloudy relationship with his successor, Barack Obama.

At odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Palestinian statehood and Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the new U.S. president will try to patch ties with the Muslim world in an address he will deliver in Egypt on Thursday.

Israelis and Arabs will be listening carefully for one of Obama's expected messages -- policy Netanyahu has met with defiant words -- that creation of a Palestinian state is essential for peace and settlement expansion must stop.

The U.S.-Israeli rift after eight years of a Bush presidency that pursued statehood only late in its second term and turned a blind eye to settlement building is raising questions over whether a close alliance will deteriorate into alienation.

Maariv, a popular Israeli newspaper, summed it up in a one-word, front-page headline on Tuesday: "Pressure".

"The president doesn't want to see even one cement mixer in the West Bank," an Israeli political source, briefed by Netanyahu aides, quoted U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell telling an Israeli delegation that met him in London last week.

Possible scenarios for twisting Netanyahu's arm could range from U.S. inaction at the United Nations in thwarting resolutions critical of Israel to choking off some military supplies, political sources and commentators said.

"Delaying the shipment of spares for the Apaches can ground the air force," political columnist Ben Caspit wrote in Maariv, referring to Israel's U.S.-made attack helicopters.