Here’s How Obama is Defending His Choice to Not Meet With Netanyahu
Photo Credit: The BlazeBy Fred Lucas. President Barack Obama said his refusal to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu two weeks before Israel’s elections isn’t personal — he wouldn’t meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel under the same circumstances, either.
“As much as I love Angela, if she was two weeks away from election, she probably would not have received an invitation to the White House, and I suspect she would not have asked for one,” Obama said at a joint news conference with the German leader Monday at the White House. “Some of this just has to do with how we do business. I think it is important for us to maintain these protocols because the U.S.-Israeli relationship is not about a particular party” . . .
“I don’t want to be coy. The prime minister and I have differences around Iran’s sanctions,” Obama said. “I have been very clear and Angela agrees with me and [British Prime Minister] David Cameron agrees with me and the others who are members of the negotiations agree that it does not make sense to sour the negotiations a month or two before they are about to be completed and we should play that out if we can get a deal, we should embrace it. If we cannot get a deal, we will have to make a set of decisions and, as I said to Congress, I will be the first one to work with them to apply even stronger measures against Iran.” (Read more about how Obama is defending his choice to not meet with Netanyahu HERE)
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Despite Recent Criticism, Netanyahu Still Determined to Address U.S. Congress on Iran’s Nuclear Program
By Barak Ravid. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he is determined to address the U.S. Congress on Iran’s nuclear program. Netanyahu rejected the criticism in the United States and Israel, saying that “while some are busy with protocol or politics, a bad deal with Iran is taking shape.”
Speaking at a Likud election event, Netanyahu added that, as prime minister, it is his duty to do everything in his power to prevent a dangerous deal with Iran. “From the day Israel was established to this day, there have been essential differences between Israel and the U.S., and relations remained sound – this will be the case this time as well,” he said.
“This is not a political issue or a party issue, neither here nor there. This is an existential issue, and I approach it with the fullest responsibility.” (Read more from this story HERE)
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