Jerusalem (CNN) -- Suggesting that Russian immigrants in Israel pose an obstacle to a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians, former U.S. President Bill Clinton stepped into the mire of Middle Eastern politics this week, prompting a wave of criticism from Israeli politicians.
Clinton, speaking at a panel discussion of his Clinton Global Initiative on Tuesday, told audience members: "An increasing number of the young people in the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] are the children of Russians and settlers, the hardest-core people against a division of the land. This presents a staggering problem. It's a different Israel. Sixteen percent of Israelis speak Russian".
Referring to the more than 1 million Russian immigrants who have come to the Jewish state since 1989, Clinton said, "They've just got there, it's their country, they've made a commitment to the future there. ... They can't imagine any historical or other claims that would justify dividing it".
The controversial comments, first reported by Foreign Policy magazine, come as the Obama administration, led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, mediates high-stakes direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians in an attempt to reach a historic peace agreement in the coming year.
In Israel, reaction to Bill Clinton's remarks has been extremely critical.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed "regret" about the comments late Wednesday and said, "As a friend of Israel, Bill Clinton definitely knows that the immigrants from the former Soviet Union have contributed a great deal to the advancement, development and strengthening of the IDF and the state of Israel".
CNN
