Iran, Israel Violence on Agenda for Obama - Netanyahu Talks

President Barack Obama listens as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Oct. 1, 2014.

U.S. President Barack Obama is hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks Monday as the Israeli leader makes his first visit to Washington since the United States and five other world powers signed a nuclear deal with Iran.

Netanyahu was among the most vocal critics of the July agreement, saying it would not slow Iran's work toward a nuclear weapon and would put Israel in danger.  He highlighted his concerns in an address to the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress in March during a trip where he did not meet with Obama.

The White House said the Iranian deal will be among the regional security issues that Obama and Netanyahu will discuss in the meeting that will also be attended by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.
Hours before he left Israel, Netanyahu said the talks would focus on "strengthening the security" of Israel.  He said Israel's security is something the U.S. has always been committed to, with the goal of maintaining Israel's comparative military advantage in the face of a changing Middle East.

Israel already receives more than $3 billion a year in U.S. military aid, and officials say Netanyahu hopes to get that raised to $4 billion to $5 billion annually. The current 10-year arrangement expires in 2017.
"I believe that this meeting is important in order to clarify the continuation of American aid to Israel in the coming decade," Netanyahu said.

U.S. officials say a new defense deal will not be finalized during the Obama-Netanyahu meeting, their first since October 2014, but that an agreement is being crafted.

"We do believe it's very important," said Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, "that in an uncertain security environment, we are signaling our long-term commitment to Israel and its security and are designing a package that is tailored to the threats and challenges that Israel will be facing over the course of the next decade."

Obama and Netanyahu also are expected to discuss the fresh wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence that began two months ago at a Jerusalem holy site and spread across Israel and into the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
U.S. officials said Obama and Netanyahu will discuss steps to prevent further confrontation between the Mideast parties in the absence of a peace agreement.  They said that while Obama remains committed to a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians, he does not believe it is possible before he leaves office in early 2017.

The visit also comes amid a dispute over the Israeli prime minister’s new spokesman, Ran Baratz.  In a posting on Facebook, Baratz said Obama's response to Netanyahu's last visit "is what modern anti-Semitism looks like in Western liberal countries."  He also said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has the mental capacity of a 12-year-old.

The State Department called the comments “troubling and offensive,” and said that Netanyahu has promised to “review” the appointment.
In a new Facebook post, Baratz apologized for the “hurtful remarks” he posted and said he was sorry he had not informed Netanyahu in advance about them.
Rhodes said he wouldn't expect the issue to come up when the two leaders meet in the Oval Office.