However, Israel has given preliminary approval for a new settlement project in the West Bank, territory Palestinians are demanding as part of a future state, documents revealed Monday.
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Senior USA officials admit that a peace deal will not come during Obama’s final year in office, but they wanted Netanyahu to lay the groundwork for a return to the negotiating table.
Obama acknowledged Netanyahu’s objections, saying it is “no secret” that there is “strong disagreement” on the issue, but said priority should be on ensuring Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon, and “blunting” the country’s “destabilizing activities”.
At the start of the meeting, Obama reiterated the USA commitment to ensuring Israel’s security.
Before the White House summit, Obama and Netanyahu have not met in over a year.
If Netanyahu expressed a desire to get the ball rolling again, “it’s a hard sell, because there is a lot of doubt about Netanyahu’s sincerity”, said Natan Sachs, fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.
The new defense spending would be aimed at assuaging Israel over the security risks it says it now faces because of the Iran agreement.
Before their first face-to-face talks in more than a year, Obama told reporters that the United States and Israel “have closer military and intelligence cooperation than any two administrations in history”, hailing the “extraordinary bond” between the two countries.
The two have not met since October 2014, and deep disagreement over the July accord between Iran and major world powers provoked bitter exchanges between the traditional allies both before and after it was reached. But they also emphasized that Obama expected to hear from Netanyahu how he would preserve the two-state option.
Israel has accused Palestinian political and religious leaders of inciting the violence, while Palestinians say the violence is due to a lack of hope for gaining independence after years of failed peace efforts.
Israel remains “committed to a vision of peace, of two states for two peoples”, Netanyahu said, noting that the Middle East is certainly being “tested”.
AP White House Correspondent Mark Smith reports.
As of Monday, at least 75 Arabs and 10 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks against settlers, police and soldiers. The USA now provides Israel with $3 billion annually, and Israel is thought to be requesting up $5 billion due to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East. A high-level American delegation is scheduled to travel to Israel next month to work out the terms of the new agreement.
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American officials sought to downplay the effect the language would have on Netanyahu’s visit and said it was the prerogative of the Israeli government to determine who serves in official posts. Baratz is no fan of Obama, having earlier suggested that he was anti-Semitic and that Secretary of State John Kerry “has a 12-year-old’s intellect”.
