In Oval Office, Netanyahu voices annoyance at Israeli reporters asking questions

Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his annoyance at the number of questions Israeli reporters asked as he sat next to US President Donald Trump earlier in the Oval Office before their meeting.

Trump fielded dozens of questions from reporters, as he regularly does. A small percentage of them were directed at Netanyahu, who engages with the Israeli media far less frequently.

One Israeli reporter asks him whether he’s working to secure the release of Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov.

“What about the Israeli press taking a press conference in Israel and not in Washington,” Netanyahu quips in response.

Another Israeli reporter shoots back that they would be happy to do so if Netanyahu agreed to hold such press conferences.

Trump sits quietly next to Netanyahu as the brief interaction unfolds.

After fielding several other questions from reporters, Netanyahu says he would like to talk with Trump on his own, but the president allows questions to continue for several more minutes.

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