Obama, Netanyahu minimize differences, renew call for peace

In comments to reporters before their private talks, they sidestepped their disagreement on Iran, with Obama calling it a "narrow issue." Netanyahu didn't mention the matter at all.

|
Andrew Harnik/AP
President Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. The president and prime minister sought to mend their fractured relationship during their meeting, the first time they have talked face to face in more than a year.

Minimizing sharp differences, President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed their commitment to seeking elusive Middle East peace on Monday, though prospects for an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians appear ever further out of reach.

The US and Israeli leaders' meeting at the White House marked the first time they had talked face-to-face in more than a year. They have long had a frosty relationship, and tensions peaked earlier this year amid Obama's pursuit of an Iran nuclear deal that Netanyahu vigorously opposed.

Monday's meeting was an attempt to reset ties for the final year of Obama's presidency.

In comments to reporters before their private talks, they sidestepped their disagreement on Iran, with Obama calling it a "narrow issue." Netanyahu didn't mention the matter at all.

"We don't have a disagreement on the need to making sure Iran does not get a nuclear weapon, and we don't have a disagreement about us blunting destabilizing activities in Iran that may be taking place," Obama said. "So we're going to be looking to make sure we find common ground there."

In public, the leaders emphasized areas of shared interest, including negotiations on a new security arrangement and the goal of peace between Israelis and Palestinians, even as the two sides grapple with fresh outbreaks of violence.

Obama said he was focused on "how we can get back on a path toward peace, and how we can make sure that legitimate Palestinian aspirations are met through a political process, even as we make sure that Israel is able to secure itself."

Netanyahu declared, "We have not given up our hope for peace." He reaffirmed his support for a two-state solution, though he gave no ground on the Israelis' longstanding conditions for achieving that outcome.

The prime minister's statement followed his apparent backtracking during Israeli elections earlier this year. At the time, US officials said there would be policy ramifications for a Netanyahu shift on statehood, including potentially easing opposition to Palestinians turning to the United Nations Security Council to create a state.

On Monday, however, White House officials said Obama focused more on getting Netanyahu to outline ways to keep confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians to a minimum in the absence of a long-term solution.

"This is certainly an opportunity for Prime Minister Netanyahu to put forward some ideas to move this process toward a two-state solution," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said of the meeting.

Netanyahu was said to be offering a series of confidence-building measures toward the Palestinians, including easing restrictions on communications, water usage and work permits in Israel and on Palestinian development in the West Bank.

However, Israel has given gave preliminary approval for a new settlement project in the West Bank, territory Palestinians are demanding as part of a future state, documents revealed Monday. Most nations, including the US, view Israeli settlements there as illegal or illegitimate and hindering efforts for Palestinian statehood.

A new round of violence broke out in the region about two months ago. Israel has accused Palestinian political and religious leaders of inciting the violence, while Palestinians say it's due to a lack of hope for gaining independence after years of failed peace efforts.

Obama and Netanyahu also discussed the renewal of a 10-year security agreement that could result in increased US military assistance to Israel. While Monday's talks did not result in a final agreement, it was significant that the leaders planned to discuss the matter given that Netanyahu had refused to do so in the immediate aftermath of the nuclear agreement.

"The security of Israel is one of my top foreign policy priorities," Obama said. Netanyahu said he appreciated what Obama has done.

"Israel has shouldered a tremendous defense burden over the years, and we've done it with the generous assistance of the United States of America," he said.

Monday's meeting was clouded by the controversy following Netanyahu's appointment of a new spokesman who has spoken derisively about Obama. Ran Baratz, a conservative commentator, has suggested in Facebook posts that Obama is anti-Semitic and Secretary of State John Kerry cannot be taken seriously.

While White House officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, have expressed displeasure over the appointment, Obama was not expected to have brought the matter up in the meeting.

Baratz is not on the trip, and Netanyahu has said he will decide his fate after returning to Israel.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Obama, Netanyahu minimize differences, renew call for peace
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2015/1109/Obama-Netanyahu-minimize-differences-renew-call-for-peace
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe