Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Obama, Netanyahu meet ahead of summit with Abbas; Sources: Netanyahu-Obama Meeting "Good"


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. President Barack Obama in New York on Tuesday morning,for 40 Minutes ahead of a tripartite summit later in the day with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Netanyahu brought Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak to the meeting; U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accompanied Obama.

UPDATE:(IsraelNN.com).At the end of his private meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, sources close to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told reporters that the meeting had been a good one, and that Obama had praised Israel for numerous "gestures" it has made to the Palestinian Authority in recent months, such as removing checkpoints.

Netanyahu told Obama, the sources said, that Israel would cooperate with the U.S. in order to advance the peace process. Speaking to Obama about the Goldstone report, Netanyahu reportedly told the President that the report was "a test for the international community. If Israel is to take risks for peace, it cannot be stopped from defending itself," Netanyahu said.