Obama looks for peace opening in final meeting with Netanyahu

“We’ve been concerned about continued settlement activity, the potential viability of a Palestinian state in the face of that settlement activity”.

In Israel, such pressure would probably be seen as Obama’s revenge on Netanyahu, who a year ago slammed the president’s push to reach a deal with Iran to constrain its nuclear program during a speech to a joint meeting of Congress. Netanyahu’s address to Congress infuriated White House officials, who thought that the Israeli leader was improperly meddling in US politics.

By contrast, Florida Senator Marco Rubio did not overtly distance himself from the letter’s two-state solution rhetoric, but argued that Israel lacked a Palestinian partner for peace at this time, and that the letter was insufficiently forceful on this point. It was reached after almost 10 months of negotiations that underscored continuing friction between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

As you conclude your presidency, I know you’re going to be busy with many, many things, much more than improving what I hear is a terrific golf game.

A USA official who tracks the issue said he does not expect the White House to decide whether Obama might make a speech on the issue or seek to pass a new U.N. Security Council resolution, until Americans elect his successor. Tuesday’s incident was the ninth since Friday, coming after Palestinians wrapped up the Muslim celebration of Id ul-Zuha and as Israel tightened security ahead of major Jewish holidays in October.

President Barack Obama calls the US Men’s National Team captain Clint Dempsey and goalkeeper Tim Howard, on Wednesday, July 02, 2014 to commend them on their leadership and the team’s performance during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Israel has for years been the largest recipient of USA military aid: in 2014, $3.1 billion, or 52 percent out of a total of $5.9 billion US military aid, worldwide. Israel says the vast majority were attackers, but the Palestinians have accused Israel of using excessive force and killing people who were not assailants.

A bipartisan slate of 88 senators urged President Barack Obama to veto any “one-sided” U.N. Security Council resolutions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The letter cited Susan Rice, Obama’s first ambassador to the United Nations, who said while vetoing a 2011 Security Council resolution: “It is the Israelis’ and Palestinians’ conflict, and even the best-intentioned outsiders can not resolve it for them”.

Then in January 2001, just before leaving office, Bill Clinton brought together Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in a failed bid to make peace and laid down his own “parameters” for a solution.

Netanyahu was in the U.S. for the United Nations general assembly in NY this week. The White House is hoping the unprecedented aid will curb the perception among Israel’s supporters that Obama has been insufficiently supportive of the Jewish state.

The American Jewish Committee in a statement also released September 15 wrote, “What could have been a powerful plea for peacemaking turned reflexively to a familiar and factually feeble denunciation of Israel from two groups with a long history of anti-Israel bias”. Fifty-three percent said they want the U.S.to impose economic sanctions on Israel if it does not freeze settlement building.