BICOM

In an interview on the eve of a White House meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Barack Obama emphasised the urgency of concluding a peace deal with the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Speaking to Bloomberg’s Jeffrey Goldberg in an hour-long interview in the Oval Office, Obama warned that, “With each successive year, the window is closing for a peace deal that both the Israelis can accept and the Palestinians can accept.” He said, “We are coming to a point, though, over the next couple of months where the parties are going to have to make some decisions about how they move forward.”

Obama underscored his support for Israel, commenting, “The US’ friendship with Israel is undying.” He also praised Netanyahu, calling him “smart” although “tough” and “a very skilled politician.” Obama emphasised that, “I take him [Netanyahu] at his word when he says that he sees the necessity of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I think he genuinely believes that.” Obama also contended that precisely because of “the credibility he has with the right inside of Israel,” Netanyahu must “seize the moment” to give “perhaps the greatest gift he could give to future generations of Israelis.”

Obama warned that, “the situation will not improve or resolve itself” and that if a peace deal is not concluded, “our ability to manage the international fallout is going to be limited.” He added that as time goes on, several factors weigh increasingly heavily against a deal, including “changes in demographics … what’s been happening with settlements” which he described as, “more aggressive … over the last couple years than we’ve seen in a very long time” and PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ advancing age.

Netanyahu arrived in Washington yesterday and in addition to meeting with Obama, he will also today meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden. Tomorrow, Netanyahu is scheduled to address the annual policy conference of influential American pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.