Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood firm against pressure from President Barack Obama in his opening remarks at their White House meeting today. According to reports from the briefing room, Netanyahu said: “Israel has been doing its part in the peace process and the Palestinians have not. I know it’s contrary to common wisdom.”
President Obama acknowledged that Israel has approached peace with “seriousness.”
President Obama had been expected to press Israel for greater concessions in talks with the Palestinians, telling Bloomberg’s Jeffrey Goldberg last week that “time is running out.” Netanyahu had left for the U.S. promising to resist such pressure.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected American plans to extend the deadline for talks unless Israel agreed to a freeze on all construction within West Bank settlements.
Photo credit: Barak Ravid, Haaretz
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