Netanyahu, Obama all smiles after White House summit
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
By: ICEJ News

US President supportive on key settlement, security issues

The meeting between US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Tuesday has been quickly dubbed the “smiles summit” by the Israeli media, as both leaders exhibited a warm friendship in an Oval Office press stakeout after their “excellent” private discussions, which stands in sharp contrast to the frosty welcomes Netanyahu has received in two previous White House visits.

Both leaders publicly affirmed the “unbreakable” bonds between the US and Israel, while Obama expressed his personal “trust” in Netanyahu and his desire for peace, comments meant to put to rest persistent media reports of soured relations between them.

During their joint press conference, the two leaders appeared to deliberately avoid making discordant comments about settlements or other points of contention and focused on shared goals, including Obama giving Netanyahu assurances that America will maintain its traditional support for Israel’s reluctance to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty – a recent source of great worry in Jerusalem.

“We strongly believe that, given its size, its history, the region that it’s in, and the threats that are leveled against us – against it, that Israel has unique security requirements. It’s got to be able to respond to threats or any combination of threats in the region,” Obama said. “The United States will never ask Israel to take any steps that would undermine their security interests.”

Regarding continued efforts to rein in Iran’s renegade nuclear program, Netanyahu voiced satisfaction with the Administration’s current sanctions strategy. “The latest sanctions adopted by the UN create illegitimacy, or create de-legitimization, for Iran's nuclear program, and that is important,” he said. “I think the [US] sanctions the president signed the other day actually have teeth, they bite… If other nations adopted similar sanctions, that would increase the effect."

Asked whether he had urged Netanyahu to extend the freeze on Jewish settlement building in the West Bank in order to bring the Palestinians into direct talks, Obama responded that he expects direct negotiations to begin “well before the moratorium has expired,” giving Netanyahu some political breathing space until the freeze expires in late September.

“I believe that the government of Israel is prepared to engage in such direct talks, and I commend the prime minister for that,” Obama said. He also applauded the “restraint” Netanyahu’s government has shown in recent months in scaling back settlement activity.

Netanyahu assured in turn that he was prepared to move forward with more “concrete steps” that could be taken “in the coming days and the coming weeks to move the peace process further along in a very robust way.”

Some media reports claim the two leaders reached a quiet understanding whereby Israel will not be asked to publicly declare a continuation of the freeze but in practice Netanyahu promised Obama not to approve hundreds of apartments but individual homes at most.

The joint appearance ended with Netanyahu half-jokingly suggesting it was now Obama’s turn to visit Israel, to which the president replied, “I’m ready.”

For a Video of the White House press stakeout, go to:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/07/06/president-obamas-meeting-with-prime-minister-netanyahu-gaza-iran-nuclear-weapons-pea

For a Transcript of remarks made at the White House press stakeout, go to:
http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Communication/EventsDiary/eventobama060710.htm