Netanyahu snubs Obama invite in new row
Print Edition
THE rocky relationship between United States President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a fresh hit yesterday over a declined White House invitation hours before Vice President Joe Biden’s arrival.
Netanyahu’s decision not to accept an invitation for talks with Obama in Washington later this month “surprised” the White House, which first learned of it through news reports.
The Israeli premier’s office defended the decision by saying Netanyahu did not want to interfere in US presidential primary elections currently on.
Obama and Netanyahu have had a rocky personal ties, worsened by the Israeli premier’s forceful opposition to the Iran nuclear deal, including in a speech to the US Congress. But the two have sought to set aside their disagreements in recent months and work out a new 10-year defense aid package for Israel as well as demonstrate that ties between the two traditional allies remain strong.
Biden was due to arrive in Tel Aviv later and hold talks with Netanyahu today. He is also scheduled to meet Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
A previous visit by Biden in 2010 was marred by the announcement of a major Israeli settlement project in annexed east Jerusalem. The announcement drew a public rebuke from Biden and it soured relations with Washington for months.
His visit this time comes with Obama having acknowledged that there will be no comprehensive deal between Israelis and Palestinians before he leaves office in January 2017.
The White House has said that Biden will not be pursuing any major new peace initiatives during his visit, even though a wave of violence since October has killed around 200 people.
Talks are expected to include discussions on a new, 10-year defense aid package for Israel, currently worth some US$3.1 billion annually in addition to spending on projects such as missile defense.
Biden and Netanyahu also plan to talk about the fight against the Islamic State group.
But while Obama has resigned himself to not achieving any major breakthrough in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there have been suggestions he may seek to somehow kickstart peace efforts at a complete standstill for two years.
That has included speculation that the US could break with traditional practice and support a UN resolution related to resolving the conflict, which Israel strongly opposes.
The Wall Street Journal quoted top US officials saying the White House is working on plans for reviving peace talks and for a possible resolution, which could be outlined in Obama’s final appearance at the UN General Assembly in the autumn.
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