President Barack Obama will have a “very substantive agenda” to pursue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his upcoming visit to Washington, which will include discussions on Israel’s security challenges and the recently signed nuclear deal with Iran, senior administration officials said Thursday.
Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters on a conference call that Netanyahu’s meeting with Obama is the latest effort to continue the “close and regular consultation” that the two governments maintained throughout Obama’s presidency, and added that the White House was proud of the “unprecedented levels of security cooperation” it established with Israel.
The meeting will be “an opportunity to discuss and hear from Israel its assessment of its security challenges and related security needs,” Rhodes continued, explaining that these include threats that Jerusalem expects to face over the next several decades, as well as more short-term concerns. He also noted that the administration’s commitment to Israel’s security ranges from military assistance to intelligence sharing, saying “we’ve established the most effective and far reaching security cooperation that the United States and Israel have ever had.”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro added that Netanyahu’s visit will allow both parties to review the implementation of the recently signed nuclear deal with Iran. He said that the discussion will also touch on steps that the administration is prepared to take in the event that Tehran violates the accord, and will extend to address the Iranian regime’s “destabilizing activities” across the Middle East.
According to Shapiro, there is a clear understanding in the White House that there remain significant Iranian threats against Israel and other American partners in the region due to Tehran’s support for terrorism and its attempts to destabilize other governments. He said that Obama will seek to get Israel’s assessment of these activities and find ways to intensify efforts to counter them.
The officials noted that Obama and Netanyahu will also examine the ongoing situation in Syria, including the way shared U.S.-Israeli interests in the country are affected by the deployment of foreign militaries.
In regards to the ongoing Palestinian wave of terror, Rhodes said that the administration has always condemned “terrorism and incitement,” and will look to discuss ways to reduce tensions in Jerusalem along with Netanyahu. He also called the Israeli prime minister’s decision to speak at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, a “positive and constructive” step that highlights the bipartisan nature of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Netanyahu’s planned visit to the White House comes on the heels of Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon’s trip to Washington late last month. Ya’alon arrived in the U.S. capital shortly after Gen. Joseph Dunford, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited the Jewish state in his first official trip abroad.
Last month, coinciding with Dunford’s visit, the American and Israeli Air Forces participated in the biennial Blue Flag joint drill in southern Israel. The exercise, which lasted for ten days, also included personnel from over 30 other countries, including Britain, Canada, France, Greece, Poland, and Austria.
[Photo: Pete Souza / Wikimedia ]