Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu left for a three-day trip to Washington late Saturday night, landed Sunday morning, and is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday.
Topping the agenda for the two leaders will be Iran’s nuclear program and progress in Israel’s negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. The Obama administration and Netanyahu’s government do not see eye to eye on either subject.
The U.S. President would like to take a more conciliatory approach to the Iranian regime and give time to allow negotiations over its nuclear program to succeed. The Israeli government has insisted that Iran is plowing full speed ahead towards developing nuclear weapons and maintains that a military option for attacking Iran’s nuclear sites must remain on the table.
Obama seemed to take a more hard-line approach to Iran on Saturday, however, just prior to Netanyahu’s visit. “I’ve been very clear that I don’t take any option off the table with respect to Iran. I don’t take any options off the table when it comes to U.S. security,” he told Newsweek magazine.
The U.S. President also seemed to soften towards an Israeli attack on Iran. “I understand very clearly that Israel considers Iran an existential threat, and given some of the statements that have been made by President Ahmadinejad, you can understand why. So their calculation of costs and benefits are going to be more acute. They’re right there in range and I don’t think it’s my place to determine for the Israelis what their security needs are,” Obama said.
On the other hand, the U.S. doesn’t expect Israel to attack Iran without informing the U.S. first. The London Times reported on Friday that CIA chief Leon Panetta made a discreet visit to Israel two weeks ago to warn Israeli leaders not to launch a surprise attack on Iran without notifying the Obama administration in advance. He met with both the Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak on the issue.
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Obama and Netanyahu are also expected to discuss Israel’s negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu has, so far, refused to endorse a two-state solution to the conflict. Obama, on the other hand, has said that a PA state will be essential to any peace process in the region.
Another point of contention is the growth of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Netanyahu insists that they should be able to enjoy “natural growth”, but only two weeks ago U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told an AIPAC conference that Israel should “not build more settlements” and encouraged Israel to “dismantle existing outposts.”
Netanyahu was accompanied on his flight to Washington by both Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren and the U.S. Ambassador to Israel James Cunnigham. He is scheduled to meet with other top U.S. officials during his visit, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The Prime Minister will return to Israel Wednesday.