Theirs was the last of 17 face-to-face meetings during Obama’s presidency, and the key point made during the brief tête-à-tête was the USA president’s expressing of “concerns around settlement activity” in the West Bank.
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Obama is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (neh-ten-YAH’-hoo) in NY.
Despite their well known disagreement on the best outcome, their meeting was very cordial, with Netanyahu even telling Obama he is always a “welcome guest” in Israel.
“We are concerned about settlement activity”, Obama told reporters at the start of the meeting at a Manhattan hotel. -Israeli relations “is to advance the goal of peace”, adding, “That’s a goal that I and the people of Israel will never give up on”. The Obama administration is anxious about continued settlement activity and its effects on “the potential viability of a Palestinian state”, said Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes on Tuesday.
“I don’t play golf, but right next to my home in Caesarea, in Israel, is a terrific golf course”, Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu, who has had a rocky relationship with Obama, said he appreciated their many talks about challenges facing Israel.
Obama and Netanyahu have often had a contentious relationship, the low point of which occurred in 2015 when Netanyahu, without informing the White House ahead of time, arranged a trip to Washington to tell Congress why Israel opposed the global agreement that the Obama administration was negotiating with Iran to curb Tehran’s nuclear weapons development.
“It is a very hard and risky time in the Middle East, and we want to make sure that Israel has the full capabilities it needs in order to keep the Israeli people safe”, Obama said. Among them, the ongoing construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
At his United Nations General Assembly speech Tuesday, Obama re-stated the US support for a two-state solution to the conflict.
It’s the largest singly military aid package in USA history, 20% more than the last 10-year agreement with Israel.
Netanyahu didn’t concur with the American president’s assertion that continuing construction in the hotly-contested region poses a risk to a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.
Since then, the peace process has been stalled due to deep differences over borders and continued Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank. Or he could in his final weeks in office offer a vision for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that could serve as a blueprint for the next president.
Wednesday’s encounter was the 17th between the prime minister and Obama since they both came to power in 2009.
Following previous failed attempts to broker peace, the Obama administration has opted against a new major diplomatic push.
Obama said he meant to use the conversation as an opportunity to push Netanyahu on working toward peace with the Palestinians.
The United States and Israel inked an agreement last week worth 38 billion dollars in military aid over the next decade, sealing Israel’s status as the leading recipient of USA foreign military aid.
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“It greatly enhances Israel’s security”.
