Amid conflicting that he prefers either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton to win the upcoming US presidential election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week stated he’ll be happy to work with whomever takes the White House in November.
Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, Netanyahu stressed that his government would remain neutral regarding the American presidential campaign.
“We are presenting both candidates with our positions but are not interfering,” said the Israeli leader. “There is no point in interfering and it’s not smart to interfere.”
Netanyahu was harshly criticized for blatantly preferring Republican challenger Mitt Romney in the 2012 US presidential election.
While Jerusalem might avoid wading into this particular American election, it is taking advantage of the contest to push forward building projects in disputed portions of the Israeli capital.
For instance, a plan to construct 57 new housing units in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramot was approved well over a year ago. But construction never began due to pressure from the international community, which sees Ramot and several other neighborhoods as “Jewish settlements.”
Now that the Americans are distracted by Trump vs. Clinton, the Jerusalem municipality is moving forward with the project.
“We’re taking advantage of the upcoming government change in the US to push projects forward that had been stalled,” Vice-Mayor Meir Turgeman told Channel 2 News, adding that Netanyahu’s “silence on this matter is a green light as far as we’re concerned.”
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