Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Washington, D.C., early Monday for his first talks with President Obama in 13 months. Notably, the two leaders haven't met face to face since the U.S. signed a nuclear deal with Iran that Netanyahu strenuously and publicly opposed. Obama will nudge Netanyahu to commit to, or at least not make impossible, a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, even though Obama has signaled he has no hopes of brokering a peace agreement before he leaves office. Before leaving Israel, Netanyahu told his cabinet he and Obama would discuss "possible progress with the Palestinians, or at least, stabilizing the situation when it comes to them."
Netanyahu's main goal, he told his cabinet, is working toward a new security deal with the U.S. Israel, which gets $3.1 billion a year in U.S. aid, is asking for $50 billion over 10 years, Reuters says, adding that "one U.S. official predicted the sides would settle for an annual sum of $4 billion to $5 billion." Obama and Netanyahu have a famously not very warm history, and Netanyahu just tapped as his spokesman Ran Baratz, a conservative commentator who has spoken dismissively of Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry. You can watch Netanyahu lay out his goals for the meeting in the video below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Mexico’s forced disappearancesUnder the Radar 130,000 people missing as 20-year war on drugs leaves ‘the country’s landscape ever more blood-soaked’
-
The Week contest: Racoon’s regretsPuzzles and Quizzes
-
Housing costs: Is deregulation the answer?Feature Washington, D.C.’s NoMa neighborhood is now leading the nation in new apartment construction
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
