Obama is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (neh-ten-YAH’-hoo) in NY.
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The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has escalated as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been bullish in efforts to expand settlements in the West Bank.
Speaking on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in what is likely to be their final meeting before Obama leaves the Oval Office in January, the two leaders discussed the expansion of Israeli settlement activity, an increase in violent attacks by Palestinians against Israelis and the prospect of Israeli-Palestinian peace.
The president himself, elected on a vague but inspiring “hope and change” ticket, vowed to “aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians”.
The US president and Israeli PM met in NY.
The relationship between Netanyahu and Obama has been a rocky one the last few years, with Netanyahu repeatedly speaking out against the USA -led worldwide nuclear agreement with Iran.
“We’ll set up a tee time”, Obama quipped amid laughter. Netanyahu thanked the president for the financial help.
“I’m sure President Obama will do so tomorrow [Wednesday] as well”, he added.
The mere fact that the two leaders are talking demonstrates that the relationship has rebounded from its lowest point, when when Netanyahu gave an address to Congress lobbying against the Iran nuclear deal in 2015.
In public, Obama and Netanyahu spent most of their time touting a 10-year military assistance deal their countries struck this month worth $38 billion, the largest tranche of military aid the USA has ever given another country.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu and I are confident that the new MOU will make a significant contribution to Israel’s security in what remains a risky neighbourhood”, Obama said in a written statement last week. Obama articulated the statement during his United Nations speech on Tuesday, Sept. 20 and both leaders held a meeting the folllowing day to further discuss the ongoing progress and tensions in the region.
“It is important for America’s national security to ensure we have a safe and secure Israel, one that can defend itself”, Obama said of the 10-year security deal. So I want you to know, Barack, that you’ll always be a welcome guest in Israel.
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“Your voice, your influential voice” will remain “for many decades”, he told Mr. Obama. “What can a president in his final months actually do?” The groups conceded “that no one person or group of people or government is blameless”, but said they were “well aware that Israel is the occupying force and has commanding power over the people of Palestine and, thus, bears special responsibility for taking the initiative”. Hours before his meeting with President Obama, Turkish officials shot and slightly wounded an attacker armed with a knife who tried to enter the Israeli Embassy in Turkey, Turkish officials said.
