He added that he hoped his last face-to-face meeting with Mr. Netanyahu will “assure that we keep alive the possibility of a stable, secure Israel at peace with its neighbors and a Palestinian [nation] that meets the aspirations of their people”. -Israeli alliance as “unbreakable”.
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Moments later, the Israeli leader joked again: “And, by the way, I don’t play golf, but right next to my home in Caesarea, in Israel, is a terrific golf course”.
“We’ll set up a tee time”, replied Mr. Obama, in what appeared to be a mere pleasantry.
It’s a virtual certainty, though, that the two leaders will not be hitting the links anytime soon.
The president made only a passing reference to Israeli settlement construction as reporters were allowed in briefly for the start of their meeting. The shooting marked the sixth straight day of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Part of the goal of Wednesday’s meeting was to assess the dynamic with Mr. Netanyahu to determine what approach, if any, might work.
“But Israel must recognize that it can not permanently occupy and settle Palestinian land”.
“They’ve never papered over their differences”, another senior administration official said.
On Sept. 20, Obama addressed the United Nations General Assembly in NY.
Before the meeting, Mr. Obama said he would determine from Mr. Netanyahu whether there is any chance to make progress on the Middle East peace process in coming months.
Whatever happened behind the scenes, it was clear both sides were eager to put on a show of getting along really well in the wake of signing a record military aid deal last week, in which the U.S. will be giving Israel $38 billion in arms over the next decade.
“I expect from the worldwide community a uniform standard in the war on terrorism”, Netanyahu said shortly before heading to the U.S.
“It greatly enhances Israel’s security”, the Israeli PM said. It’s the largest singly military aid package in USA history, 20% more than the last 10-year agreement with Israel. “It’s a very hard and risky time in the Middle East”.
Two opposition journalists are on trial again in Turkey, accused of aiding the movement led by USA -based cleric Fethullah Gulen that the government has branded a terror organization. And, several defense analysts pointed out that after factoring in inflation and previous supplemental bumps in funding for Israel by Congress, the new assistance package represents less money than the past 10-year deal.
In addition, the official stressed that neither United States presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump, have requested meetings with Netanyahu, but that if they did, he would respond positively.
“I think he’d want to make a determination about how can he be most constructive in supporting a vision that he cares about, which is an Israel that has security and peace with the Palestinian people and a Palestine that is sovereign and independent”, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said on Tuesday.
U.S. officials have held out the possibility Obama could lay out the rough outlines of a deal – “parameters” in diplomatic parlance – after the November 8 presidential election and before he leaves office in January, but many analysts doubt this would have much effect. “We’ve tried multiple tactics; none of them have succeeded”.
Before Obama spoke, United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon urged for Israel to compromise with the Palestinians during his address to the assembly.
The US president and Israeli PM met in NY. Or he could in his final weeks in office offer a vision for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that could serve as a blueprint for the next president.
The leaders were all smiles as they sat down in NY for what the White House said was likely to be their last meeting before Mr Obama’s presidency ends in January. “Time is running out and this is one of the last opportunities that a statement by President Obama could be significant”.
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Netanyahu pushed back on Obama’s characterization of the matter. But Israel’s defence ministry claimed she refused to stop at a checkpoint near the Israeli settlement of Alfei Menashe and the Palestinian town of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank.
