US Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday delivered a warm speech at Tel Aviv University on Thursday afternoon, stressing the importance of US-Israel friendship and Washington's commitment to the security of the Jewish state.
"US President Barack Obama and myself know that the US has no better friend in the community of nations than Israel," Biden said at the start of his speech.
Biden also shared some memories from his first visit to Israel as a young senator in 1973, when he met with then-Prime Minister Golda Meir and with Yitzhak Rabin.
The US vice president said Meir told him that Israel's secret weapon in its against the Arab states was that "we have nowhere else to go."
Biden told the audience they must "make no mistake about America's resolve" in its fight against terrorism and against the Iranian nuclear program.
He said that the Islamic republic has grown more dangerous in the last decade, with Iran funding and supporting Hizbullah and Hamas, and "intimidating both its neighbors and its own people."
America was determined to prevent Iran from aqcuiring nuclear weapons, Biden said.
Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the US vice president called for a two-states solution, saying that peace with Palestinians is "profoundly" in Israel's interest, and stressing that Washington is committed to Israel's security.
"From my experience, the one precondition for progress is that the rest of the world knows this - there is no space between the US and Israel when it comes to security - none. That's the only time that progress has been made," he said.
Biden went on to say that the "status-quo is not sustainable," because Israel could not remain a Jewish state while the Arabs population continues to grow and a Palestinian state has not been established.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas and PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad are both real partners for peace, Biden said, urging Israel to seize the opportunity to achieve real peace with the Palestinians.
Concerning the Ramat Shlomo housing project, Biden explained that his condemnation of the building plan was harsh because "true friends have to tell each other the truth."
The US vice president said that he accepted Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's explanation that the east Jerusalem housing project had been in the process of approval for years and that it would take several years before construction actually begins.
Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser had revealed on Thursday morning that in addition to apologizing to Biden over "the unfortunate timing" of the announcement, Netanyahu had a harsh talk with Interior Minister Eli Yishai over the announcement of the Ramat Shlomo plans.
Netanyahu told Interior Minister Eli Yishai that it was not necessary to advance the plan's approval this week, and instructed the minister to adopt procedures that would prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
Biden noted that he was sure Israel would work to ensure that such incidents would not recur, and said that as long as building in the Jewish neighborhood did not start, there was still time for the Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the issue.
"May God protect you and may God protect Israel," the US vice president concluded.