Netanyahu, Trump meeting to set tone for U.S.-Israeli ties
JERUSALEM — When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Wednesday with President Trump at the White House, they'll likely focus more on Iran than controversial West Bank settlements or moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv.
"The alliance between Israel and America has always been extremely strong. It's about to get even stronger," Netanyahu said.
The Israeli prime minister said he and Trump “see eye to eye on the dangers emanating from the region but also on the opportunities.”
The meeting will set the tone for U.S.-Israeli relations under a Trump presidency following eight tension-filled years between President Obama and Netanyahu. Trump's election buoyed Israel's hopes that the U.S. would embrace many of its positions in disputes with the Palestinians, including expanded settlements and recognizing Jerusalem as the capital. Long-standing U.S. policy says the future of Jerusalem should be decided in peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
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Trump changed his tone this month, saying new Israeli settlements "may not be helpful" in resolving the decades-old conflict with Palestinians. And he backed off a campaign pledge to relocate the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
Trump has said he would love the challenge of negotiating a long-elusive peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.
Netanyahu’s most immediate concern is Iran, and he'll likely push for additional sanctions. He could tout Israel’s strong relations with Egypt and Jordan, the only two Arab states with which it has peace accords, and developing ties with Iran's regional rivals, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Those countries could be important assets for the U.S. to fight the Islamic State and help curtail Iran's regional ambitions.
“By far the main item on the agenda is Iran,” said Dennis Ross, a senior State Department official who spearheaded Middle East initiatives under both Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
“The settlements came up only because Netanyahu’s right-wing has been pushing the issue. They put settlements on Israel’s public agenda, I don’t think otherwise it would have been there at all,” Ross said.
The U.S. imposed sanctions on Iran this month after Tehran's latest ballistic missile test, marking a more aggressive approach by the Trump administration.
Netanyahu, an outspoken critic of the Iran nuclear deal reached by the U.S. and five other Western powers, will want assurances from Trump that Russia will not help Iran open a new front on Israel’s northern border, with Iran's Revolutionary Guards building a power base that could threaten Israeli population centers.
As the Islamic State and other militants have been pushed back on the Golan Heights, where Israel and Syria share a border, Iranian troops have taken over positions that the depleted Syrian forces don’t have the manpower to cover.
After Netanyahu announced new building permits for 5,000 Israeli residential units in the West Bank on Feb. 2, White House press secretary Sean Spicer emphasized that the Middle East peace process remains "unchanged."
"While we don’t believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal," Spicer's statement read. "The Trump administration has not taken an official position on settlement activity and looks forward to continuing discussions" with Netanyahu.
Last week, while Netanyahu was in London meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May, Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the extreme-right Jewish Home party rammed through parliament a “land-grab” law that retroactively legalizes West Bank outposts.
Netanyahu, who is facing investigations into allegations of corruption, had long opposed the controversial move, but quietly announced his support of the new law upon landing back home. The drastic measure is likely to be challenged in court.
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Contributing: Gregory Korte