Obama and Netanyahu meet, air differences

World Today

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama met for the first time in eight months on Wednesday. Their relationship is described as tense, but they found common ground on the fight against Islamic State terrorists.

Netanyahu praised the U.S.-led coalition’s airstrikes in Iraq and Syria during the two-hour closed door meeting. However, both leaders raised disagreements between the U.S. and Israel.

After the meeting, a spokesman for Obama criticized an Israeli construction plan in East Jerusalem, which is where Palestinians hope to one day establish the capital of an independent Palestinian state. The spokesman said it would create distance between the U.S. and Israel.

So far the conflict in Gaza has killed more than 2,000 Palestinians and 70 Israelis. The U.S. provides about $3 billion a year in mostly military aid to Israel. It also helps to fund the Iron Dome missile defense system that has saved Israeli lives during the conflict.

Aside from the Gaza conflict, Netanyahu also pressed Obama to keep sanctions on Iran in place amid the halted negotiations over the country’s nuclear program.

CCTV America’s Jim Spellman reports.