Sec. Clinton Meets with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem

Max Samis — July 16, 2012 – 4:50 pm | Comments (0) Add a comment

Following a whirlwind day involving meetings with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, and U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before holding a press conference in Jerusalem. Clinton and Netanyahu discussed a wide range of topics, including the ongoing peace process with the Palestinians, diplomatic relations between Israel and Turkey, and the results of her previous meetings with Egypt’s newly-inaugurated president.

Stuart Winer and Philip Podolsky of The Times of Israel, along with the AP, reported:

The US secretary of state, in Israel as the last leg of a tour through Asia, told Netanyahu that Jerusalem should transfer small arms to the PA in order to get them back to the table, according to Ynet news. She also called on Netanyahu to release Palestinian prisoners. Both moves have been mentioned as Palestinian prerequisites for coming back to the negotiating table.

Talks with the PA have been frozen since 2010 as Ramallah has also demanded a freeze on settlement construction before returning to the table.

Clinton reportedly told Netanyahu he should hurry to achieve peace with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, since they did not know who would replace them…

Before the meeting Netanyahu told Clinton he looked forward to hearing her impressions on Egypt. ‘That has been an anchor of peace and maintaining the peace treaty between us, I think, is something that is uppermost in both our minds, and I appreciate the efforts that you’re investing to this end.’

Netanyahu said Palestinian peacemaking efforts and stopping Iran’s nuclear program would also be discussed.

Clinton said Washington would remain close with Jerusalem on the rapidly evolving issues.

‘We’re living in a time of unprecedented change with a lot of challenges for us both and we will continue to consult closely as we have on an almost daily basis between our two governments to chart the best way forward for peace and stability, for Israel, the United States, the region and the world, and we’re all delighted to be here with you,’ she said.

Barak Ravid of Haaretz also reported:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the Palestinian issue at the opening of his meeting with Clinton, stating that everything must be done in order to maintain calm in the West Bank and to see whether the peace process can be restarted.

In her meetings in Israel, Clinton referred to her visit to Egypt which took place over the weekend. According to a top Israeli official, Clinton emphasized that newly-inaugurated Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is interested in dealing with domestic issues in the near future, with a focus on the economy. Clinton further stated that Morsi is not interested in causing turmoil in all regarding relations with Israel and the peace agreement between the countries.

Clinton also repeated the U.S. government’s stance according to which Israel has a vested interest in mending its relationship with Turkey, adding that every day that the breakdown in relations continues only causes harm to Israel.

Following her meeting with Netanyahu, Clinton held a press conference where she asserted that the United States will “use all elements of power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.” Joshua Davidovich of The Times of Israel wrote:

Clinton told reporters she ‘compared notes’ on Iran with Netanyahu and that pressure on Tehran would continue to ramp up.

‘Iran’s leaders still have the opportunity to make the right decision,’ she told reporters, adding ‘we will use all elements of American power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.’

The secretary of state added that she did not see Tehran making any move toward coming to an agreement with the international community over its nuclear program.

‘The proposals we have seen thus far are nonstarters,’ she said. ‘Despite three rounds of talks, Iran has yet to make a strategic decision to address the international community’s concerns. So we are pressing forward in close consultation with Israel. I think it’s absolutely fair to say we are on the same page trying to figure our way forward to have the maximum impact.’

Clinton also said Israel could not allow the status quo between it and the Palestinians to continue, calling it ‘unsustainable.’

‘The proof is in the security threats Israel faces,’ she said…

Clinton told reporters that moves for peace had to be made now.

‘To those who say the other side needs to move first, I say: peace won’t wait,’ she said. ‘The responsibility falls on all of us to keep pressing forward. We’ll keep pushing our friends to do what they can to move the agenda forward. We will do everything possible to try to see this vision of peace realized.’

Click here to read more about Clinton’s visit to Israel.

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