Obama, Netanyahu Meet To Cushion US-Israel Tensions
U.S.
President, Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin
Netanyahu has sought to ease strained ties in a talk that
yielded no sign of a breakthrough in the stalled Middle East
peace process.
The meeting was held a day after Netanyahu struck a defiant note
in the face of fresh U.S. criticism of Jewish home construction
in a part of the occupied West Bank annexed to Jerusalem.
American and Israeli officials have sought to get relations back
on track after the housing dispute triggered the worst
diplomatic rift between the United States and Israel since Obama
took office last year.
In a sign of lingering tensions, the Obama administration
withheld from Netanyahu some of the usual trappings of a White
House visit.
Press coverage of the Oval Office talks was barred, and the
leaders made no public statements afterward.
In a statement, hours after the meeting, Netanyahu's spokesman,
Nir Chefetz said President Obama and the Prime Minister met
privately for an hour and a half and that the atmosphere was
good.
Chefetz said the two leaders' advisers "continued discussions on
the ideas raised at the meeting" and would hold further talks.
Israeli officials said Netanyahu planned to use his visit to
discuss U.S.-led efforts to pressure Iran, over its nuclear
program.
Earlier in Ramallah, Palestine, a senior aide to Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rdainah, said Netanyahu's
policy was obstructing the return to negotiations.
Netanyahu began his Washington visit on Monday, declaring in an
address to the influential pro-Israel lobby AIPAC that Jerusalem
was not a settlement, but a capital
Reuters/Williams
