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Obama, Netanyahu Meeting a Capstone to Years of Testy Ties
Source: Associated Press
Obama, Netanyahu Meeting a Capstone to Years of Testy Ties
By JOSH LEDERMAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Sep 21, 2016, 4:18 AM ET
Frustrated after years of fraught diplomacy, President Barack Obama will seek Wednesday to cast the U.S. partnership with Israel as on solid footing, even as he openly weighs using the final stretch of his presidency to ramp up pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to finally make peace with the Palestinians.
Obama's meeting Wednesday with Netanyahu will likely be his last before leaving office, the White House said. For both leaders, it's a capstone to a relationship that has been testy at best.
Ties between the two leaders never fully recovered after Netanyahu showed up on Capitol Hill to lobby Congress against Obama's nuclear deal with Iran. The Obama administration, meanwhile, has been dismayed by periodic comments by the Israeli leader suggesting he's less-than-serious about the two-state solution that has been the basis of all serious peace efforts for decades.
This time, at least, the leaders have a concrete achievement to showcase as evidence that America and its closest Mideast ally are sticking together: A 10-year military assistance deal worth $38 billion, the largest tranche of military aid the U.S. has ever given another country. The White House is hoping the unprecedented aid will curb the perception among Israel's supporters that Obama has been insufficiently supportive of the Jewish state.
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By JOSH LEDERMAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Sep 21, 2016, 4:18 AM ET
Frustrated after years of fraught diplomacy, President Barack Obama will seek Wednesday to cast the U.S. partnership with Israel as on solid footing, even as he openly weighs using the final stretch of his presidency to ramp up pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to finally make peace with the Palestinians.
Obama's meeting Wednesday with Netanyahu will likely be his last before leaving office, the White House said. For both leaders, it's a capstone to a relationship that has been testy at best.
Ties between the two leaders never fully recovered after Netanyahu showed up on Capitol Hill to lobby Congress against Obama's nuclear deal with Iran. The Obama administration, meanwhile, has been dismayed by periodic comments by the Israeli leader suggesting he's less-than-serious about the two-state solution that has been the basis of all serious peace efforts for decades.
This time, at least, the leaders have a concrete achievement to showcase as evidence that America and its closest Mideast ally are sticking together: A 10-year military assistance deal worth $38 billion, the largest tranche of military aid the U.S. has ever given another country. The White House is hoping the unprecedented aid will curb the perception among Israel's supporters that Obama has been insufficiently supportive of the Jewish state.
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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/obama-netanyahu-meeting-capstone-years-testy-ties-42241580