Farrakhan Criticizes Clinton on Mideast

President Clinton is hurting Middle East peace prospects with a policy that too willingly “bows to the dictates” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan said. He said on NBC-TV’s “Meet the Press” that Clinton should have been able to dissuade Netanyahu from building homes for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem. The Palestinians want to establish the capital of a Palestinian state there. “The world says he shouldn’t do this,” the Muslim minister said. The U.S. is not using its influence constructively, he said. “The administration’s Middle East policy has helped bring about important changes in the region,” White House spokesman Barry Toiv responded.