Rather, the White House says the leaders have important business to do together – and predicts that after a rocky year of relations, they will work together constructively.
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Before the meeting, Obama told reporters in the Oval Office that he would discuss with Netanyahu “how we can lower the temperature between the Israelis and the Palestinians and how we get back on a path towards peace”.
Another topic of discussion at the meeting is the stalemate concerning trying to find a solution for Israeli-Palestinian peace and how to achieve a two-state resolution between the two countries, but this is not expected to be solved before Obama leaves office in 2016, say officials. While the two leaders have long had a chilly relationship, tensions boiled over earlier this year amid Obama’s pursuit of the Iranian nuclear deal.
“We have not given up our hopes of peace”, Netanyahu said, stressing that Israel remains committed to a two-state solution, but also remains determined to protect itself against threats.
Mr Netanyahu said he was in favour of a demilitarised Palestinian state that recognises a Jewish state, a condition the other side has rejected.
“As I’ve said repeatedly, the security of Israel is one of my top foreign policy priorities and that has expressed itself not only in words but in deeds”, Obama stressed.
Admitting it was “no secret” the two men disagreed on how to counter Iran’s nuclear program, both sought to end personal public rancor and focus on areas of cooperation, including a $30-billion-plus military deal.
He said Obama also didn’t raise the issue of Netanyahu’s new media advisor, Ran Baratz, who had posted harsh comments about Obama on Facebook before his appointment.
Netanyahu has said he’s ready to move beyond the fight over the nuclear deal, and it’s clear many Democrats are eager to return to Israel’s good graces. “We’ll never give up the hope for peace”.
Last week, Obama administration officials, laying out their hoped-for outcomes of Monday’s meeting, said they accepted there would be no peace agreement in the near term. The last Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 2007, but “today’s Middle East can not be compared to what it was then”, the prime minister said, explaining that the now volatile situation in the region has created new challenges for Israel.
Obama and Netanyahu planned to discuss progress on a new security agreement that could result in increased US military assistance to Israel. Netanyahu discussed his concerns in March in his address to the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress. Netanyahu and Obama did not meet during that visit.
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The meeting was the first face-to-face between the leaders in more than a year. Obama, an Israeli source said, could have easily left this issue for his successor, since the current aid package only expires in 2017.
