Ambassador Nides Commends Israel’s Handling of Crisis

Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM – U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides has put in a good word for Israel regarding its handling of the violence in Yerushalayim in recent days.

In remarks at a meeting of the Atlantic Council, Nides said that he gives the Israeli government “a lot of credit” for the way it managed an explosive situation, and kept it from escalating into something much worse.

“I think things went pretty well,” Nides was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel,  adding that he spent a lot of time talking with Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian leaders in a bid to defuse tensions in the capital before the Palestinians began rioting.

During the crisis, Israel was condemned on a daily basis by Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian leaders, among others. Hamas also threatened war.

Nides acknowledges that “it wasn’t perfect” but says he feels “really good about” how Israel handled the last month, noting that the situation did not touch off a war with Hamas, as violence at Har Habayis did last year. The Atlantic Council is, according to its mission statement, “a nonpartisan organization that galvanizes U.S. leadership and engagement in the world, in partnership with allies and partners, to shape solutions to global challenges.”