Obama has called settlements "illegitimate." And he has said that Israel "has obligations under the road map," while referring disparagingly to "settlements that, in past agreements, have been categorized as illegal."

Obama's anti-Israel policy, unlike those of some of his predecessors, like Jimmy Carter, lacks even the pretense of "even-handedness," - the code words for punish Israel - since there is no reciprocity. Israel has nothing to gain and everything to lose.