| Online: | |
| Visits: | |
| Stories: |
| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
Obama And Netanyahu Almost Succeed In Obscuring Differences During White House Meeting, But Then Someone Spoiled The Party
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and President Obama met in the White House for the first time since their public dispute over the nuclear agreement with Iran.
Both leaders went to extraordinary lengths to show the world that they are still allies and that they know how to conduct themselves in a statesman-like manner. So they were very respectful and even helpful to each other, and their behavior belied all the frictions that were laid out by the international media prior to their meeting.
During a press conference before their meeting, Obama emphasized that there was no other foreign leader he has met more frequently than the Israeli PM and highlighted the extraordinary bond between the United States and Israel. The President said that the security of Israel was one of his top priorities in foreign policy.
He again said that the security cooperation between the U.S. and Israel is closer than under any previous administration. The President said that the meeting was an opportunity to discuss how the U.S. and Israel can blunt the terrorist activities of Islamic State (which he called by its old name, ISIL), Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations in the region. He said that he planned to make a head start to “make sure that both the United States and Israel can plan effectively for our defense needs going forward.”
Obama acknowledged that he has a strong disagreement with Netanyahu on the Iranian nuclear program, which he called ‘a narrow issue,’ but said that there is no disagreement between Israel and the U.S. on the need to make sure Iran doesn’t get a nuclear weapon.
When he talked about the current Palestinian wave of terror against Israel, the President condemned the Palestinian violence against Israeli citizens and said that it is his strong belief that Israel not only has the right but the obligation to defend itself. He also reiterated his commitment to the moribund peace process and said that he wanted to discuss ways to get back on the path toward peace. Obama made clear that such a path must address Palestinian political aspirations.
Netanyahu, for his part, made clear that he has not given up hope for peace and said that he remained committed to “a vision of peace of two states for two peoples, a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state.” The Israeli PM expressed his gratitude for Obama’s commitment to bolster Israel’s security and for the U.S. assistance to maintain Israel’s qualitative military edge.
After the meeting, Netanyahu told reporters that it has been one of the best in years and said there had been no arguments or confrontations, and that the focus of the meeting had been on moving forward.
The two leaders agreed to establish a joint task force that will monitor the implementation of the nuclear deal with Iran and will focus on an increase in U.S. military aid to Israel. Obama and Netanyahu discussed a new aid package worth 5 billion dollars (instead of the current $3 billion) that are widely regarded as compensation for the nuclear deal with Iran. The package would regulate U.S. military assistance to Israel for the next decade.
A U.S. delegation will visit Israel in December to start negotiations about the new aid package. Netanyahu explained later to the American Enterprise Institute that during the meeting with Obama, he didn’t focus on the sum of the aid package but on Israel’s security needs that have changed dramatically in light of the current turmoil in the Middle East, and in light of Iran’s aggressive behavior in the region.
Netanyahu’s remarks about his commitment to the so-called Two State Solution led immediately to a condemnation of one of the coalition partners in his government. Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennet told Israeli radio that for him, the era of a Palestinian state has come to a close.
“I believe that it is absurd to just form another Arab state that’s bound to become an Islamic outpost. I think the Palestinian issue is diminishing, and it is about time to prepare for the day after and to lay out for ourselves what the Israeli national interest is,“ Bennet said.
“The American interest in Israel is much deeper than the Palestinian issue. Israel is the forward position of the free world in the campaign against jihad,” Bennet added.
The Obama administration, however, made clear that its stance on the Two State Solution remains unchanged. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters after the meeting between Netanyahu and Obama that the administration still believes that the Two State Solution will contribute to Israel’s security.
Earnest suggested that both Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are to blame for the stalemate in the peace process when he said that “political leaders on both sides need to make difficult choices that will be unpopular among constituents, but will serve them in the long run.”
Obama’s national security advisor, Ben Rhodes, was even more blunt when he blamed Israel’s settlement activity for the lack of peace and the absence of a Palestinian state.
“For Israel, the more there is settlement construction, the more it undermines the ability to achieve peace,” Rhodes claimed.
Wall Street Journal Editor Bret Stephens begged to differ. He wrote today that “the only force standing in the way of a Palestinian state are the Palestinian people, who think they can gain their rights by stabbing their neighbors.”
“How sweet it would be if all Israel had to do to make peace was dismantle its settlements. How much sweeter if the American president would find less to fault with an Israeli government’s housing policies than a Palestinian political culture still so intent on killing Jews. If Mr. Obama wants to know why he’s so disliked by Israelis, there’s the reason,” Stephens wrote in a column titled “Palestinian State of Denial.”
Source: http://www.westernjournalism.com/obama-and-netanyahu-almost-succeed-in-obscuring-differences-during-white-house-meeting-but-then-someone-spoiled-the-party/
