Israel Matzav

Report: Obama canceled meeting with Netanyahu

Globes, Israel's business daily is reporting that President Obama canceled Tuesday's meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and not the other way around as had previously been reported (Hat Tip: Slomgun via Twitter).

But sources inform "Globes" that it was the Obama administration that initiated the cancellation of today's scheduled meeting in the White House between Obama and Netanyahu.

As soon as news of yesterday's incident broke there were hectic consultations between Netanyahu's advisors and White House staff. After the scale of events became clear, the Israelis received a clear message from Washington: It is worth postponing the visit.

Today's meeting between Obama and Netanyahu had been planned as a high profile media opportunity and "charm offensive" to show that there was no rift between the US and Israel. There were even rumors that Obama was going to announce that he would be visiting Israel in August or early September.

Obama's aides feared that being seen with Netanyahu would damage the US president's image.

Netanyahu's entourage is officially insisting that it was the Israeli prime minister who postponed the meeting. However, a source close to the prime minister told "Globes" that the Americans, not the Israelis, wanted to postpone the meeting.

Netanyahu's advisors had been hoping to exploit the Washington stage to give an appropriate response to the global propaganda against Israel and show the world that at least the US stood alongside Israel.

Earlier on Tuesday, Arutz Sheva reported that despite the meeting's cancellation, the US had guaranteed Israel's strategic capabilities.

Officials in Jerusalem reported on Sunday that Obama had promised that Israeli deterrence would be unharmed.

This promise was given before Obama's decision to vote with the United Nations for a resolution singling out Israel over its alleged possession of nuclear weapons.

The latest understandings with America are a “significant step up” in ties, the Jerusalem sources said.

The Obama administration voted Friday in favor of a Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty resolution, despite Obama's subsequent criticism of the bill as “flawed and hypocritical” for singling out Israel. Analysts said America's signature may have been an attempt to garner support for sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

Prime Minister's Office officials said the NPT vote “ignores the realities of the Middle East.” Obama and the U.S. were widely criticized in Israel for supporting the resolution, and were accused of achieving international consensus on nuclear weapons at the expense of Israel's very existence. The United States was also cited for enabling the abuse of nuclear weapons by radical Islamic elements.

Sources close to Netanyahu said the Prime Minister has been working on several fronts to ensure that the NPT vote would not detract from Israel's security. His efforts included contact with Obama, they said.

Hmmm.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:41 AM