THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama, flanked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, on Tuesday hailed the bond between the U.S. and Israel as "unbreakable" and said the two agreed on concrete steps to begin direct talks on Mideast peace.
The two, speaking with reporters in the Oval Office after meeting for about an hour, dismissed claims that relations between the countries had cooled in recent months and reaffirmed their shared interest, particularly in the area of national security and peace.
Mr. Obama said Mr. Netanyahu was prepared to take "risks" on Mideast peace and praised the prime minister for recently instituting a partial freeze on Jewish construction in disputed territories.
Mr. Netanyahu said the two discussed "concrete" steps they would take in the coming weeks to help move toward direct talks on Mideast peace. Mr. Netanyahu said it was "high-time" for he [sic], Mr. Obama and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to have direct talks on Mideast peace.
Mr. Obama said he hoped direct talks would begin before the moratorium on Jewish construction ends in September. >>> Jared A. Favole | Tuesday, July 06, 2010
