Israeli Newspaper Publishes Alleged Transcript of Tense Phone Call Between Obama and Netanyahu; Doesn't Resemble Reality, NSC Tweets
Channel 1 in Israel released a transcript in Hebrew it claimed was of a tense phone call between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Times of Israel provided an English translation:
Barack Obama: I demand that Israel agrees to an immediate, unilateral ceasefire and halt all offensive activities, in particular airstrikes.
Benjamin Netanyahu: And what will Israel receive in exchange for a ceasefire?
BO: I believe that Hamas will cease its rocket fire — silence will be met with silence.
BN: Hamas broke all five previous ceasefires. It's a terrorist organization dedicated to the destruction of Israel.
BO: I repeat and expect Israel to stop all its military activities unilaterally. The pictures of destruction in Gaza distance the world from Israel's position.
BN: Kerry's proposal was completely unrealistic and gives Hamas military and diplomatic advantages.
BO: Within a week of the end of Israel's military activities, Qatar and Turkey will begin negotiations with Hamas based on the 2012 understandings, including Israel's commitment to removing the siege and restrictions on Gaza.
BN: Qatar and Turkey are the biggest supporters of Hamas. It's impossible to rely on them to be fair mediators.
BO: I trust Qatar and Turkey. Israel is not in the position that it can choose its mediators.
BN: I protest because Hamas can continue to launch rockets and use tunnels for terror attacks –
BO: (interrupting Netanyahu) The ball's in Israel's court, and it must end all its military activities.
Neri Zilber, a journalist from the Washington Institute for Near East Studies, tweeted that the transcript came from an American source, meaning it was likely translated into Hebrew by Channel 1 and then back into English by the Times of Israel.
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said that, if true, the leak of the transcript represented "a severe violation of a private diplomatic discussion," while the Obama White House's National Security Council tweeted a few minutes ago that the transcript bears no "resemblance to reality" and that it was "shocking and disappointing someone would sink to misrepresenting" a private conversation by fabricating a transcript.
UPDATE: Despite the Israeli government also calling the transcript a fabrication, the Channel 1 reporter who broke the story insists it is authentic, came from a "senior American official," but says the transcript represented only portions of the conversation.
