Emanuel: Bibi, Obama discussed peace
Obama’s chief of staff says no crisis with Israel over settlement construction
WASHINGTON – First official US response in wake of Netanyahu-Obama meeting: President Barak Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a good meeting and discussed ways to progress on the peace front, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday.
“The path toward peace is not one Israel should be asked to walk alone; that is why the US will remain actively engaged and Israel’s one true friend,” said Emanuel.
Earlier, PM Netanyahu dismissed rumors of a crisis with President Obama as “nonsense”.
Emanuel’s address at the annual General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities and Federations stirred particular interest because of the silence following the Netanyahu-Obama summit. The chief of staff spoke in place of the president, who traveled to Texas to attend the memorial ceremony for the victims of the Fort Hood massacre.
Rahm Emanuel at the GA. Soon coming to Israel for son's bar-mitzvah (Photo: AFP)
Officials in Washington said the rare silence in the wake of the meeting was meant to test Bibi’s and his staff’s credibility, in an effort to overcome the lack of trust following leaks after previous meetings between the two leaders.
Emanuel declared that he is certain Netanyahu grasps the “strategic importance” of progressing towards peace, adding that Israel and the US will work together as “friends and allies.” Obama and the US Administration understand the risks assumed by Israel and will remain by its side, the White House chief of staff said.
Emanuel sounded particularly moved when he spoke of his father’s Israeli roots and about the visit he plans to Israel in order to celebrate his son’s bar mitzvah.
Obama’s chief of staff also declared that since Obama took office, the state of Israel’s security and the Palestinian economy have improved. However, he stressed that progress must nonetheless be made towards peace.
“The President believes we have an obligation to lead and a responsibility to help repair the world,” he said. “Nowhere is that responsibility greater than in the Middle East – especially for our friend, our ally, Israel.”
Turning his attention to the question of settlement construction, Emanuel said there was no dispute between the US and Israel on this front, and pledged not to turn the issue into a bone of contention between the two states. He added that the US continues to endorse negotiations without any pre-conditions, stressing that all outstanding issues will be resolved through agreement and not unilaterally.
