The leaders of the United States and Israel sit down Monday to discuss an array of Mideast issues on which they disagree: peacemaking with the Palestinians and U.S. efforts to promote dialogue with the once-shunned Iran and Syria.
Before his Feb. 10 election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu derided the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which stalled late last year, as a waste of time. But senior White House officials said Saturday that President Barack Obama's meeting with Netanyahu is part of his commitment to pursue a comprehensive peace that includes a two-state solution.
While not opposing the Obama administration's efforts to promote dialogue with Iran and Syria, Israeli officials dismiss Tehran's claims that its nuclear program is peaceful and fear the U.S. outreach could lead to greater tolerance for Iran's nuclear ambitions. Finally, the Israelis are worried by the recent diplomatic shuttles to Syria for fear they reward Damascus even as it maintains close ties to Tehran and harbors Iranian proxies that have warred with Israel, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Gaza's Hamas.
Netanyahu has tried to persuade the Americans that Iran, with its nuclear ambitions, arsenal of ballistic missiles and militant proxies, must be reined in before peacemaking with the Palestinians can progress.
"Both countries' goal of blocking Iran from achieving (nuclear) capability definitely will be at the heart of the talks, and I imagine there will be a detailed discussion of the most effective means to achieve this aim," Israel's national security adviser, Uzi Arad, said.
Netanyahu confidant Zalman Shoval, a former ambassador to the U.S., recently said the Israeli leader would ask the U.S. to give Iran a deadline of "a very few months" to comply with international demands to halt its enrichment of uranium — a process that can be used to build nuclear bombs.
"If by then we have not reached an agreement with you, all other options are still on the table," Shoval added in a clear allusion to a military strike.
Obama said he understood Israel's concerns over Tehran, according to a Newsweek magazine interview published Saturday.
"I understand very clearly that Israel considers Iran an existential threat and given some of the statements that have been made by President Ahmadinejad, you can understand why," he said. "I don't think it's my place to determine for the Israelis what their security needs are."
The Americans think serious progress on Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking is imperative so moderate Arab states won't have a reason to shun an international alliance meant to curtail Iran.
Before Monday's meeting, the Netanyahu government was not speaking with one voice on the Palestinian issue. While Arad focused on the obstacles that any accord would face, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel and the Palestinians could nail down a deal within three years.
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