Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S.
President Barack Obama at the White House
Netanyahu: "In the Middle East, the
most turbulent and violent part of the Earth, the only peace that will endure is
a peace we can defend."
Against the backdrop of a snowstorm that shut down
Washington and the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
met with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday.
Before the meeting, Netanyahu said that the people of
Israel expect him "to stand strong against criticism, against pressure, stand
strong to secure the future of the one and only Jewish state."
In an interview with Bloomberg View columnist Jeffrey Goldberg
published this weekend, Obama warned of a "bleak future" for Israel if a peace
agreement with the Palestinians is not reached. At the White House on Monday,
Obama had a less dire tone.
"It is still possible to create two states, a Jewish State
of Israel and a State of Palestine, with people living side by side in peace and
security," Obama said. "But it's difficult. It requires compromise on all
sides."
"We do not have a closer friend or ally than Israel and
the bond between our two countries and our two peoples in unbreakable," Obama
said.
Netanyahu thanked Obama for working closely with Israel on
"critically important issues" during his time as president.
"We're deeply grateful for that," Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu called on the Palestinians to recognize Israel
as the Jewish state. "Mr. President, you rightly said that Israel, the Jewish
state, is the realization of the Jewish people's self-determination in our
ancestral homeland. So the Palestinians expect us to recognize a Palestinian
state for the Palestinian people, a nation state for the Palestinian people. I
think it's about time they recognize a nation state for the Jewish people. We've
only been there for 4,000 years.
"In the Middle East, which is definitely the most
turbulent and violent part of the Earth, the only peace that will endure is a
peace that we can defend," Netanyahu said.
"I know this flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but
it's the truth. What we all want fervently is peace. Not a piece [of] paper …
but a real peace; a peace that is anchored in mutual recognition of two nation
states that recognise and respect one another, and solid security arrangements
on the ground."
Netanyahu said he hoped Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas takes "Israel's genuine security needs" seriously.
"The 20 years that have passed since Israel entered the
peace process have been marked by unprecedented steps that Israel has taken to
advance peace. I mean, we vacated cities in Judea and Samaria. We left entirely
Gaza. We've not only frozen settlements, we've uprooted entire settlements.
We've released hundreds of terrorist prisoners, including dozens in recent
months.
"And when you look at what we got in return, it's been
scores of suicide bombings, thousands of rockets on our cities fired from the
areas we vacated, and just incessant Palestinian incitement against Israel. So
Israel has been doing its part, and I regret to say that the Palestinians
haven't."
Speaking about the Iranian nuclear issue, Obama assured
Netanyahu of his "absolute commitment to make sure that Iran does not have a
nuclear weapon." Netanyahu called preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon "the
greatest challenge" facing Israel and the U.S.
Most of Monday's meeting took place behind closed doors,
with only advisers in attendance. Netanyahu was accompanied by National Security
Adviser Yossi Cohen. While Netanyahu called for Obama to put pressure on the
Palestinians to make certain concessions, Obama wanted to know what Netanyahu
was willing to compromise on. According to officials in Netanyahu's entourage,
Obama intends to push the peace talks forward by presenting an American
compromise to Abbas when they meet at the White House later this month.
Earlier on Monday, Netanyahu met with U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry. Netanyahu also meet with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and
congress members.
Netanyahu will address the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee conference in Washington on Tuesday, before flying to Los Angeles.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, an Orthodox Jew and
considered to be one of Obama's closest advisers, addressed the conference on
Monday, saying, "The American-Israel relationship has not been a Democratic
cause or a Republican cause, it has been an American cause."
Opposition Leader MK Isaac Herzog (Labor) spoke at the
conference on Monday and called on Netanyahu to "move boldly toward peace."
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (Hatnuah) also addressed the
conference on Monday, but her speech was closed to the media.
On Monday night, Kerry told the conference that the U.S.
"will not let the West Bank turn into another Gaza."
"Israel's security is our first priority," Kerry said.
On Iran, Kerry said, "We will not permit Iran to obtain
nuclear weapon. Period."
Kerry said that "no deal is better than a bad deal" with
Iran and said that the Obama administration would support imposing further
sanctions on Iran if negotiations fail.
Speaking at the conference, U.S. Senator John McCain criticized
the Obama administration's response to the crisis in Ukraine. According to
McCain, the current "feckless foreign policy" has led to nobody believing in
America's strength.
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