The ice seemed to thaw just a little bit during today’s Oval Office meeting between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The last time the two met in the White House, things got really uncomfortable when Netanyahu made it clear that he was no fan of the President’s proposal that negotiations with the Palestinians be based on the pre-1967 borders.
Check out the video from last May:
And that’s not the only point of disagreement. Back in 2010, Vice President Joe Biden was blindsided when the Israeli government announced during his trip to the country that it would start building apartments in disputed East Jerusalem. And last year, an open microphone caught President Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy complaining about having to deal with Netanyahu:
Sarkozy: “I cannot bear Netanyahu, he’s a liar. Obama: “You are sick of him, but I have to work with him every day.”
Dan Senor has written about these tiffs in two Wall Street Journal columns. One ran today; the other last fall.
Be sure to check out Alex’s discussion about today’s meeting and the threat of war with Iran:
