Bill Clinton to Israel: Iran No Threat

Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff, Newsmax:

Ex-president Bill Clinton urged Israelis over the weekend not to overreact to comments by newly elected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recommending that Israel be "wiped off the map." Speaking at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on Saturday, Clinton acknowledged that the remark was "outrageous," but he cautioned that the Iranian leader was "not elected because of his hatred for Israel or the West."

"He was elected because of the economic distress of ordinary Iranians, and which he promised to relieve by giving them financial assistance," Clinton explained, according to the Jerusalem Post.

He warned Israel not to act unilaterally when reacting to terrorist threats, saying that "true peace and security can only come through principled compromise." READ MORE

Clinton urged Israelis to "organize their politics" so "their search for peace can continue" regardless of domestic policies.

On Oct. 27, President Ahmadinejad told a "World Without Zionism" conference that Israel is a "disgraceful blot" on the Middle East that should be "wiped off the map."