Netanyahu Welcomes ‘Great Change’ Under Trump During Mattis Visit

The leader of Israel is no longer hiding his relief that he gets to move on from the anti-Israel policies of former President Barack Obama.

Greeting U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis Friday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted the “welcome change” in the new administration under President Donald Trump.

Mattis is in Israel as part of a greater Middle East trip in which he has been meeting with American allies throughout the region. The retired decorated general turned secretary of defense had stops in Egypt and Saudi Arabia before arriving in Jerusalem for the third leg of his trip. He will visit Qatar on Saturday and Djibouti on Sunday, before heading back to Washington.

“Israel has no better friend than America. America has no better friend than Israel,” Netanyahu said upon greeting Mattis for their joint press conference. “This is a partnership based on common values in the deepest sense of the word.”

Netanyahu praised Mattis and President Trump for their “clear and forthright” language used to describe the threat from the terrorist regime in Iran.

America and Israel face “twin threats” in today’s global security environment, Netanyahu explained, discussing how their common adversaries include the “Shiite extremists led by Iran and the Sunni extremist led by Daesh (the Islamic State).”

Mattis added: “Especially the week before Holocaust Remembrance [Day], I think it’s important that we remind ourselves that if good people don’t band together, then bad people can do a lot of damage in this world.”

Earlier, Mattis met with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman. The two discussed the major threat posed by the Iranian regime’s use of terrorist proxies to achieve its goals, and how Tehran continues to threaten global stability with its nuclear program.

Israeli leaders, Netanyahu especially, appear relieved that they no longer have to deal with the Obama administration’s constant harassment of the Jewish state.

Obama accused Israel of “humiliating” Palestinians. His top diplomat, John Kerry, accused Israel of becoming an “apartheid” state, and claimed Israel could not be both Jewish and democratic. The Obama administration also delivered the theocratic regime in Iran over $100 billion in unfrozen assets, and empowered Islamic supremacists worldwide with his support of the Arab spring revolts. In Obama’s last days, he allowed the United Nations to pass an anti-Israel resolution that was so vehemently toxic even Democrats rebuked the former president for his hostility to Israel.

That’s why it surprised nobody when Netanyahu accepted what he called “a great change in the direction of American policy.” (For more from the author of “Netanyahu Welcomes ‘Great Change’ Under Trump During Mattis Visit” please click HERE)

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