Obama and Netanyahu
Obama and NetanyahuWhite House Video

US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made a joint statement to the press on Wednesday, following their meeting in Washington.







In his statement, Obama referred to Tuesday’s terror attack near Hebron in which four Israelis were murdered, and called the murders a “senseless slaughter.” He said that such acts of terror would not stop the US from seeking to achieve peace in the Middle East.

“I want everybody to be very clear: The United States is going to be unwavering in its support of Israel’s security, and we are going to push back against these kinds of terrorist activities,” said Obama and added that the message that should go out to Hamas and other terrorist groups that “this is not going to stop us from not only ensuring a secure Israel but also securing a longer lasting peace.”

Obama said that he and Netanyahu had a “very productive” meeting about the efforts to advance peace. He also expressed the deep condolences of the American people to the families of the victims of Tuesday’s attack and thanked Netanyahu for “still being so committed to the cause of peace” despite the difficult time in Israel.

Netanyahu, who spoke after Obama, thanked the President for his condemnation of Tuesday’s terror attack. He called the terrorists who committed the attack “people who have no respect for human life and trample human rights into the dust and butcher everything that they oppose.”

Netanyahu described his talks with Obama as “open, productive, serious in the quest for peace” and said that he discussed with Obama the need for Israel to be able to maintain its security, both against these kinds of terror attacks as well as other threats to its security.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Obama. “There are going to be those who are going to do everything they can to undermine these talks, but we are going to remain stalwart.”