Netanyahu also plans to meet with Hilary Clinton later in the evening on Sunday. “The topics of military assistance, security and regional stability were addressed“.
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Trump’s campaign said the candidate also promised to recognize Jerusalem as “the undivided capital of the State of Israel”. By now, he had corrected his message on Jerusalem, clarified his ambiguous stance on USA foreign aid to Israel and backtracked his promise to show “neutrality” when negotiating an Israeli – Palestinian peace deal.
US recognition of the Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem might outrage both Israel’s Arab neighbors as well as some of its Western allies, but would also cement a key goal of Netanyahu’s right-wing administration, which has aggressively expanded settlements in disputed territories.
NPR noted “The U.S. has its embassy in Tel Aviv, and officially does not recognize Jerusalem as a part of any country”.
Trump came under fire again from Jewish leaders and donors after he refused to condemn an anti-Semitic image re-tweeted by his campaign on his official Twitter account.
While the meeting was closed to the press, Trump has acknowledged that he consulted with Netanyahu about Israel’s border wall and talked about their shared opposition to the Iran nuclear deal. Trump has said he will erect a fence between the United States and Mexico to keep out infiltrators.
She also “reaffirmed her commitment to work toward a two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiated directly by the parties”.
These topics included the nuclear deal with Iran, the battle against Islamic State militants, military assistance provided by the USA to Israel and other security issues. Clinton said in a statement that it would help “solidify and chart a course for the US-Israeli defense relationship in the 21st century as we face a range of common challenges”.
The Democratic nominee attended the meeting, at the W Hotel off of Union Square, after stopping by to visit her daughter Chelsea across town. The paper reported that Netanyahu insisted on also meeting with Clinton, as to not be seen as taking sides. Netanyahu, who in 2012 acted in a way that was perceived as him interfering on behalf of nominee Mitt Romney and against the incumbent president, Barack Obama, is interested in avoiding giving even the slightest impression of interference. The signing of the Iran nuclear agreement a year ago widened U.S.
The Israeli prime minister has a long professional relationship with Hillary Clinton, which the Washington Post documented as “sometimes fraught” in 2015. Netanyahu’s office then reached out to the Clinton campaign in a bid to avoid the appearance of favoring the GOP candidate.
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Mr Trump’s campaign released a statement after the Trump Tower gathering, saying the two men spoke for an hour about terrorism, Iran, Isil and cybersecurity.
