Obama, Netanyahu set to hold talks at White House on Nov. 9; Iran nuclear deal on the agenda

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after months of chilly relations, will meet at the White House on Nov. 9 to talk about the Iran nuclear deal that Israel’s government has harshly criticized and tried without success to block.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the leaders also would discuss efforts to counter the Islamic State group’s activities in the Mideast. He called the meeting a demonstration “of the deep and enduring bonds between the United States and Israel as well as our unprecedented co-operation to further enhance Israel’s security.”

It will be the first formal meeting between Obama and Netanyahu in months.

Obama pointedly refused to see Netanyahu in March when the Israeli leader appeared before a joint meeting of Congress and harshly criticized the U.S.-negotiated nuclear deal with Iran, Israel’s enemy. U.S. lawmakers had arranged Netanyahu’s appearance without White House input.

Congressional Republicans have failed to block the deal from going forward. The international accord backed by the United States, Iran and five world powers would curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions that have undercut Tehran’s economy.

The United States has committed to provide more than $7.18 billion in security aid to Israel over the next year, and officials have floated the possibility of signing a new 10-year agreement about U.S.-Israeli security co-operation. But Netanyahu’s government has reacted tepidly to that proposal, out of concern that signing such a deal would suggest Israeli acquiescence to the nuclear accord.

Earnest said that while the Israelis have been reticent of late to talk the matter, “we would expect in the context of this meeting in November, and others that may be on the agenda for lower-level officials, to begin having those discussions and we certainly welcome the opportunity to do so.”

Earnest said that two leaders’ talks also would include a discussion of “Israel’s relations with the Palestinians, the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and the need for the genuine advancement of a two-state solution.”

Israeli police continue to clash with Palestinian protesters at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site during the Jewish new year holiday of Rosh Hashanah.