Bond between Israel and US ‘unbreakable’ says Obama

The meeting between Obama and Netanyahu at the White House held considerable symbolic importance as much as it is crucial to the future of the Middle East, according to the region’s press. The peace process, the Iranian nuclear issue and the restoration of relations between Turkey and Israel are said to hinge on the summit.

President Obama called the bond between Israel and the United States “unbreakable” following a meeting Tuesday with Israeli Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, as both men rejected reports of a rift between the two countries.

The press in Israel urge their prime minister to take decisive action to restore Israel’s international standing and repair relations with the US. One newspaper noted that it was in the interests of both Mr Obama and Mr Netanyahu to secure at least superficial progress.

Palestinian opinion expressed concern that the meeting might simply be a public relations stunt to boost the standing of the respective leaders. Papers in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan were sceptical about the likelihood of real progress on the peace process, saying that the meeting was likely to focus on repairing ties between Israel and Turkey.

The public show of unity matters for the delicate Middle East peace process and for domestic political consumption on both sides. Of immediate concern to the Democratic Party is the effect a perceived rift could have on the midterm elections as Republicans angle to use any perceived rupture with Netanyahu to argue that Obama is insufficiently committed to Israel.

Netanyahu arrived at the White House a few minutes before 11 a.m., having been driven the short distance from Blair House in a two-car motorcade. He entered the main West Wing entrance, followed shortly after by his entourage of aides.

Netanyahu met with the president in the Oval Office for about an hour before the two men took questions from reporters. The prime minister said that reports of problems between Israel and the United States are “flat wrong,” and that his country is committed to peace with the Palestinians.

Obama said Israel’s recent decision to loosen its embargo against the Gaza Strip was “real progress.”

Obama was cool toward Netanyahu during their last meeting, leaving the Israeli leader and his aides in the West Wing alone for hours as a subtle rebuke over Israeli settlement policies. The two were never photographed, which in diplomatic code sent a chilly message.

That encounter came after an announcement by Israel, during a visit to the country by the vice president, of a plan to construct 1,600 Jewish homes in a part of East Jerusalem that Palestinians view as their future capital.

In contrast, in the hours before Tuesday’s session, Israel announced that it was indicting and disciplining three military officers for their actions during the 2009 Gaza military operation.

Tuesday’s meeting had been promised as “a makeup visit,” one senior Democratic lawmaker said, giving the two leaders a chance to demonstrate at least some degree of solidarity. On Monday, administration officials said that they were confident the visit would go smoothly and that they had made progress in recent days in demonstrating cooperation between the United States and Israel.