US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put aside past differences on Wednesday in their first meeting since the United States promised its ally a $38bn military aid package.
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Both leaders on Wednesday described the bond between the USA and Israel as unbreakable, but the talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly were overshadowed by a new spate of Israeli-Palestinian violence. “It fortifies the principle that you’ve enunciated many times that Israel should be able to defend itself, by itself, against any threat”, Netanyahu said of the deal that will give the Israeli military US$38 billion from fiscal year 2019 to 2028.
At the start of his remarks, Natanyahu thanked the United States for signing a military aid package earlier this month to provide Israel with almost $40 billion over the next decade.
Netanyahu talked of Palestinian extremism as the biggest obstacle to peace, one that he said threatens the existence of Israel and the security of the Jewish people.
Obama and Netanyahu came to power at the same time in 2009 and have had several spats over the years.
Obama made one mention of being concerned about Israel’s massive settlement expansion, and that was basically the end of it, with Israeli officials referring to it as a “light-hearted” meeting at which the two got alone better than they’ve tended to throughout their respective administrations. The long-term aid agreement allows Israel “certainty in a moment when there’s enormous uncertainty in the region”, Obama said. Netanyahu has led Israel for all but about the first two months of Obama’s almost eight years in office.
“We’ll set up a tee time”, Obama quipped. “One thing that I would say about Prime Minister Netanyahu is that he is always very candid with us”.
“We do have concerns about settlement activity as well, and we hope that we can continue to be an effective partner with Israel on finding a path to peace”, Obama said Wednesday.
But the White House tamped down any expectation that Obama would use his final months to launch a new Middle East peace initiative, saying Obama will only step in if he believes both sides are ready and the United States can play a constructive role. Rhodes did not rule out another push for peace talks but indicated that the president would not weigh in unless there were signs that Israeli and Palestinian leaders were interested in talking to each other.
US President Barack Obama is addressing the United Nations for the last time as the leader of America.
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“It is important the US and Israel find common ground in advancing the Palestinian issue even if the leadership between the parties on the ground makes it unlikely it will be solved soon”, said David Makovsky, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
