Video: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Reaffirms Strength of Recently Strained U.S.-Israeli Relations

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday reaffirmed U.S.-Israeli ties at the AIPAC conference, saying that "the United States has long recognized that a strong and secure Israel is vital to our own strategic interests." The AIPAC conference in an annual pro-Israel lobby, and Clinton's remarks, as seen in this CNN video, come at a time when relations between the two countries had been strained.

This reaffirming of U.S.-Israeli ties comes after Clinton chastised Israel's decision to build Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem, an area of the city in dispute with Arab residents, as "insulting," as seen in this video. Clinton said the decision should not have been announced while U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Israel to reaffirm the U.S.'s support for a two-state solution to the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict.