Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets US President Barack Obama in Washington on Monday in a bid to thaw frosty personal ties, turn the page on the Iran nuclear deal and talk defense.
The White House meeting, scheduled for 10:30 am (1530 GMT), will be closely watched in particular because it marks the first encounter by the two leaders since October 2014.
Since then, Washington and other world powers reached a landmark nuclear accord with Tehran in a move Israel strictly opposed.
In the wake of that July agreement, the relationship between Netanyahu and Obama — who no longer bother to hide the extent of their differences — has only deteriorated further.
Matters between the two have been tense for some time. And in March, Netanyahu, chief of the rightwing Likud Party, travelled to the US capital to court Republicans, Obama’s political opponents, and addressed Congress — much to the displeasure of the White House.
Monday’s face-to-face talks, which look to be more functional than warm in nature, are meant to heal the rift left by that episode and enable the reaffirmation of the unwavering nature of the security alliance between Washington and the Jewish state.
The White House has sought to downplay personal feelings, with spokesman Josh Earnest saying they were “not nearly as important as their ability to work together to advance the national security interests of the two countries that they lead.”
But the Israeli daily Maariv on Sunday likened the planned meeting to that of a “separated, bitter couple who, after many fights, is only there to make final financial arrangements before the divorce.”
The main focus of the meeting will be on US defense aid to Israel in a bid to assuage the Jewish state over the security challenges it says it now faces due to the nuclear accord.
The Israeli premier has deemed the deal a “historic mistake” and argues that it will not block regional rival Iran’s path to atomic weapons.
He also contends that the lifting of sanctions will allow Tehran to further back proxy militants in the region, including Israeli enemies Hamas and Hezbollah.
Israel already receives more than $3 billion per year in US military aid in addition to other spending, such as on the Iron Dome missile defense system.
But the 10-year arrangement expires in 2017 and there have been reports that Netanyahu will seek a significant increase.
“I believe that this meeting is important in order to clarify the continuation of American aid to Israel in the coming decade,” Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting on Sunday, before jetting out.
Obama and Netanyahu are expected to discuss commitments that could see Israel get more than the 33 hi-tech F-35 jets already ordered, precision munitions and a chance to buy V-22 Ospreys and other weapons systems designed to ensure Israel’s military edge over its neighbors.
The meeting comes amid pressure on Netanyahu to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and put an end to a wave of violence — including Palestinian gun, knife and car-ramming attacks — that has raised fears over the potential for a new Palestinian uprising.
More than 70 Palestinians, an Arab-Israeli and nine Israelis have lost their lives since the start of October.
Obama has previously criticized Netanyahu for sending mixed signals over his commitment to a two-state solution and may press him on the issue.
Netanyahu on Sunday said he planned to discuss with Obama the conflict in Syria and “possible progress with the Palestinians, or at least stabilizing the situation with them.”
However, US officials say the president has lost any hope of a major peace accord being reached between the Israelis and Palestinians before he leaves office in January 2017.
Netanyahu, who arrived in Washington on Sunday and is expected back in Israel on Thursday, is also due to meet members of Congress and representatives from North American Jewish organizations.
On Monday, he will receive an award from the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.
He will also address the left-leaning Center for American Progress in what some analysts see as an attempt to improve relations with Democrats.
