Associated Press in Tel Aviv - US defence secretary Leon Panetta says Israel needs to focus on diplomacy as well as security as he travels to Middle East Link to this video
The US has warned that Israel is becoming increasingly isolated in the Middle East, and said the country's leaders must restart negotiations with the Palestinians and work to restore relations with Egypt and Turkey.
In a blunt assessment made by Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, as he was travelling to Israel, he said the ongoing upheaval in the Middle East made it critical for the Israelis to find ways to communicate with other nations in the region in order to have stability.
"There's not much question in my mind that they maintain that [military] edge," Panetta told reporters travelling with him. "But the question you have to ask: is it enough to maintain a military edge if you're isolating yourself in the diplomatic arena? Real security can only be achieved by both a strong diplomatic effort as well as a strong effort to project your military strength."
Panetta is scheduled to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week, and then travel to a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels. His visit comes as negotiators push for a peace deal by the end of next year, increasing pressure for the resumption of long-stalled talks.
The Pentagon chief said Israel risks eroding its own security if it does not reach out to its neighbours. "It's pretty clear that at this dramatic time in the Middle East, when there have been so many changes, that it is not a good situation for Israel to become increasingly isolated. And that's what's happening," he said.
Panetta said the most important thing was for Israel and its neighbours "to try to develop better relationships so in the very least they can communicate with each other rather than taking these issues to the streets".
His visit comes at a particularly critical and fragile time. The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has asked the UN to recognise an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, areas captured by Israel in the 1967 six-day war. The US opposed the UN bid, saying there is no substitute for direct peace negotiations. But with Israel continuing to build settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, Abbas says there is no point in talking.
About 500,000 Jewish settlers now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.
The US, Britain, France and other UN security council members are likely to try to hold up consideration of the application while they press for a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, diplomats said.
Negotiators for the Quartet (UN, US, EU and Russia), are asking the Israelis and the Palestinians to produce comprehensive proposals on territory and security within three months. Israeli officials have welcomed parts of the proposal, but have also expressed concerns about the timetable for some discussions. They also have refused to endorse the 1967 prewar borders as a basis for the future Palestinian state – something President Barack Obama has endorsed.
The Palestinians, meanwhile, have said they will not return to talks unless Israel freezes settlement building and accepts the pre-1967 war frontier as a baseline for talks. The Quartet is urging both sides to avoid "provocative actions". Last week, Israel approved the construction of 1,100 new housing units in an area of Jerusalem built on land captured in 1967, a move that drew widespread international condemnation.
Panetta said he wanted to stress to both sides that instead of setting conditions or pursuing other approaches, "the most important thing they can do is go to the negotiating table. That would be a tremendous signal to the world that both the Israelis and the Palestinians want to try to find a solution to these problems. I don't think they really lose anything by getting into negotiations."
Panetta is scheduled to meet the Israeli defence minister, Ehud Barak, and the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, as well as Abbas and the Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad.
His visit to Israel comes six months after his predecessor, Robert Gates, travelled to the region to meet Israeli leaders and make a journey to the West Bank to talk to Fayyad.
The US has said it would veto the Palestinians' UN request, despite the high political cost in the Arab world. However, Washington would not need to use its veto if the Palestinians fail to get the support of at least nine of 15 council members. Palestinian officials have said they believe they have eight yes votes, and are lobbying for more support.