Even when Netanyahu backtracked and insisted he was not reneging on long-time Israeli policy, the White House was unconvinced. Obama was especially irked by Netanyahu’s vow during the heat of a tough re-election campaign earlier this year that there would be no Palestinian state on his watch. officials acknowledge that some irritants in relations with Israel are likely to remain, especially if the current right-wing makeup of Netanyahu’s cabinet is unchanged and some ministers continue casting doubt on the two-state solution. Israel could also revisit its plans to buy V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor planes built by Boeing Co and Textron Inc’s Bell Helicopter unit. It will be the first country in the Middle East to have the aircraft. Under the MOU, Israel may seek to expand its order of 50 F-35 fighter jets, deliveries of which are due to begin next year. officials said no agreement on a new aid agreement would be signed during Netanyahu’s visit but that he and Obama would “sort of give their blessing” to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) negotiations. official predicted the sides would settle for an annual sum of $4 billion to $5 billion. Israeli government spokesmen declined to provide details on the defense aid talks, but one U.S. Israel now receives $3.1 billion from the United States annually and wants $5 billion per year for 10 years, for a total of $50 billion, Congressional officials have told Reuters.
defense aid, Israel argues that sanctions relief agreed by world powers under the July deal that curbs Iran’s nuclear program will allow Tehran to invest more heavily in its missile development, while redoubling funding for Hezbollah and Hamas guerrilla allies on its borders. Obviously we feel Congress has now closed that chapter.” official said: “The debate on Iran has subsided. Asked how Iran will factor into the Obama-Netanyahu talks, the senior U.S. And I think that’s the best guarantor of peace,” he said last month. “He has already said publicly that he doesn’t think so.”įor Netanyahu, who infuriated the Obama administration by speaking against an emerging agreement with Iran in Congress in March at the invitation of the Republicans, it is now time, in his words, to move past the “disagreement in the family”.
official said in the run-up to the meeting. “The president has made clear that we’re not going to get a two-state settlement during the time of his administration,” a senior U.S. The meeting, the first between the two leaders in 13 months, could also underpin Obama’s assurances that he has Israel’s back and help deflect accusations from Republican presidential hopefuls that he and any Democrat successor are less pro-Israel.īut Israeli-Palestinian peace, a goal that has eluded Obama during his two terms, will likely take a back seat to a reaffirmation of strategic ties – though aides say he will still press the Israeli leader for steps to help keep alive the possibility of a two-state solution for any future negotiations. military aid package that could burnish the right-wing prime minister’s security credentials, now challenged by a wave of Palestinian stabbing and shooting attacks. Their White House talks will be an important step towards a new U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington October 1, 2014.