Obama blasts Israel, touts lifting Iran sanctions in Saudi paper
Soon after Saudi Arabian Premier King Salman snubbed President Barack Obama’s invitation to attend a Gulf leaders summit at Camp David, the commander-in-chief interviewed for the first time with an Arabic media outlet — blasting Israel for its conflict with the Palestinians and promoting his nuclear deal to lift sanctions against Iran.
Continuing to undermine the United States’ longstanding alliance with Israel, Obama demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stop “oppressing” and “abusing” the Jewish State’s Palestinian population by giving up its occupied territories.
“Palestinians deserve an end to the occupation and the daily indignities that come with it,” Obama told the Muslim-owned newspaper, Asharq Al-Awsat, which is based in London and read in 14 cities over four continents. “They deserve to live in an independent, sovereign state, where they can give their children a life...