Bibi and Barack reconcile

After one of the worst rifts ever in U.S.-Israeli relations, President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week sought to put their differences behind them as the Israeli leader offered to take “concrete steps” toward peace talks with the Palestinians. Relations between the two nations were badly strained in March, when Israel announced plans to build Jewish homes in a Palestinian neighborhood of Jerusalem just as Vice President Joe Biden was visiting. Two weeks later, Obama pointedly declined to hold a joint appearance with Netanyahu following a tense White House meeting.

During this week’s Netanyahu visit, Obama praised Israel’s recent easing of the Gaza blockade and said Netanyahu was “willing to take risks for peace.” The two pledged to work toward direct talks with the Palestinians before September, when a moratorium on Israeli settlement building in the West Bank ends.

Nice “buddy-buddy” act, said Peter Beinart in TheDailyBeast.com, but it was just a cover for major differences between the two leaders. Netanyahu “didn’t utter the word ‘Gaza’” or make any reference to Palestinian statehood. That’s because he wants Obama to force the Palestinians into talks even though he has “zero interest in birthing a Palestinian state” while Hamas runs Gaza. “What kind of schmuck does Netanyahu think Obama is?”

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Netanyahu has Obama right where he wants him, said Dana Milbank in The Washington Post. Obama’s tough stance against Israel in March cost him politically, as “the Israel lobby reared up” and “Democrats ran for cover.” Now, with midterm elections looming, Obama had to perform “the Full Monty of pro-Israel pandering.”

If only Obama truly were protecting Israel, said Meyrav Wurmser in National Review Online. Instead, he continues to press the delusion that the Palestinian issue is the main source of Middle East tension, when the real threat to the region is from Iranians and Turks. A “radical strategic alliance led by Iran” is heading for nuclear capability and has been seducing Turkey. But Obama is too busy badgering Israel into talks with Palestinians to take on this dangerous regional threat.