Netanyahu: Obama speech at embassy proves close ties

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said President Barack Obama’s speech later this week at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, should put to rest talk of dissension between the two governments.

“This is further testimony that the relationship between the US and Israel are – despite disagreements that arise from time to time – very strong and steadfast,” Netanyahu said Sunday in opening remarks at the weekly Cabinet meeting in which he thanked Obama for delivering the speech.

Obama is speaking Wednesday at International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorations, which will include the formal recognition of four people – including two Americans – as Righteous Among the Nations for their rescue of Jews.

“Over the past two years, and in recent years, we have heard remarks about the collapse of relations,” Netanyahu said. “What has collapsed is the talk about a collapse and what is becoming increasingly clear is that this special relationship finds expression in very many areas.”

The Netanyahu and Obama governments have clashed during the last two years over the Iran nuclear deal and the US administration’s failed effort to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Both issues are more or less settled – Obama is unlikely to make another pass at peace talks, and the nuclear rollback for sanctions relief deal went through despite Netanyahu’s efforts – and both leaders have said they want to focus on areas of agreement.

One of these is expanding US assistance to Israel, currently standing at an average of $3 billion annually.

“One of these, of course, is the memorandum that we are trying to formulate, and will conclude I hope in the coming months, with the US on a package of security assistance for Israel over the coming decade,” Netanyahu said.

“Everyone understands that in the end, in the whirlpool in the Middle East, with the rise of radical Islamic forces, Israel is the US’s strongest, and most loyal and stable, ally in the region,” he said. “This also finds expression in the shared values and common interests that we are advancing.”

Israel’s opposition has charged Netanyahu with harming the relationship with the United States, a claim some parties tried to use against him in the March elections.