The United States warmly congratulated Israel on its independence day Tuesday, stressing the "unbreakable bond" between the two countries after weeks of tension, DPA reported.
"We continue to share a strong, unbreakable bond of friendship," US President Barack Obama said in a message. "I am confident that our special relationship will only be strengthened in the months and years to come."
Obama said he wanted to work with the Israeli government to achieve comprehensive peace and security in the Mideast, including a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
US Secretary of States Hillary Rodham Clinton also affirmed Washington's commitment to Israel, which began marking the 62nd anniversary of its independence from sunset on Monday.
"The United States will continue to stand with you, sharing your risks and helping shoulder your burdens, as we face the future together," Clinton said in her message.
The celebrations mark 62 years - according to the Hebrew calender - since Israel declared statehood on May 14, 1948. At the time, the population was 806,000.
Today the population has grown to 7.6 million, 75.5 per cent of whom are Jews and 20.4 per cent Arabs, according to the nation's Central Bureau of Statistics.
The US and Israel have been at loggerheads for weeks over plans by Israel to extend building projects in the Arab part of East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want to be the capital of their future state.
Washington and the European Union have demanded that Israel halt the construction plans so as not to endanger peace talks with the Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the demands in an Independence Day speech, saying the Jews had returned to their land and the city of Jerusalem because it belongs to them.
In advance of the holiday, Israel sealed off the West Bank, shutting military roadblocks and checkpoints on key West Bank roads leading into Israel, to avoid possible attacks by Palestinian militants in crowded city centres.
US congratulates Israel on independence day
The United States warmly congratulated Israel on its independence day Tuesday, stressing the "unbreakable bond" between the two countries after weeks of tension.
