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The U.S. administration is furious over Israeli incitement against President Barack Obama, Democratic congressmen close to Obama told an Israeli source who returned from a visit to Washington this week.

The congressmen even hinted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been personally involved.

The source, who met in Washington with administration officials and members of Congress, told Haaretz he was stunned by the level of anger there over attempts to portray Obama to the American public as an enemy of Israel because of his efforts to restart peace talks and freeze settlement construction.
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"There are people here who are playing with fire by damaging our relationship with the U.S.," the source said.

Last month's summit in New York between Obama, Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also reduced Washington's expectations of a speedy resumption of final-status talks between Israel and the PA. While U.S. envoy George Mitchell will meet Netanyahu again Friday, the meeting is not expected to resolve the crisis in Israeli-Palestinian relations.

Meanwhile, King Abdullah of Jordan warned Washington recently that Israel's settlement policy in East Jerusalem is undermining the stability of Israeli-Jordanian relations.

He also ordered the Jordanian embassy in Israel to submit an official protest to the Foreign Ministry over a plan to build a new Jewish neighborhood on lands bel... >>>