News
Obama and Netanyahu to meet in New York on Wednesday
Israel’s Prime Minister is set to meet his American counterpart in New York on Wednesday on the side-lines of the UN General Assembly.
White House Press Secretary, Josh Earnest, said that the meeting will give US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “an opportunity to discuss the strong ties between the US and Israel, as recently underscored by the finalisation of a new ten-year Memorandum of Understanding with Israel, the single largest pledge of military assistance in US history”.
Earnest added that Wednesday’s meeting “will be an opportunity to discuss the need for genuine advancement of a two-state solution… in the face of deeply troubling trends on the ground”. Earnest said that Obama and Netanyahu will also “likely” discuss the nuclear agreement with Iran and other regional issues.
Last week, Netanyahu described the new military deal between the US and Israel as “historic”. However, senior figures, including former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and former National Security Advisor Uzi Arad have criticised Netanyahu, saying his attitude towards the Obama administration prevented an even more generous package.
In response, Netanyahu told his cabinet yesterday that the claims were “distortions and fabrications of interested parties”.
He added: “We were never offered more. We were not offered more money, not even one dollar, and we were never offered special technologies.”
It will be the first meeting between the two leaders since November 2015. It is expected to be their last before Obama leaves office in January.
Israel and the US last week signed a new military aid agreement, which will see Israel receive around £29bn over a decade, following months of protracted talks. The agreement includes £377m annually, specifically for developing missile defence systems and an agreement by Israel that Congress will not be approached for additional missile defence budgets. Israel also agreed to the gradual phasing out of the right to use up to 26 per cent of military aid to purchase equipment from Israeli defence industries.