JERUSALEM: White house Chief of staff Rahm Emanuel invites Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to White House

Record ID: 1542748

  • Title: JERUSALEM: White house Chief of staff Rahm Emanuel invites Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to White House
  • Date: 27th May 2010
  • Summary: JERUSALEM (MAY 26, 2010) (REUTERS FOR POOL) ***CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF RAHM EMANUEL AND ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU ENTERING ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (English) WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF RAHM EMANUEL SAYING: "On behalf of the President, who will be in Canada, and he has asked me to extend an invitation to you to come visit him at the White House for a working meeting to discuss both our shared security interests as well our close cooperation on seeking peace between Israel and it's neighbours." MEDIA NETANYAHU AND EMANUEL SHAKING HANDS
  • Embargoed: 11th June 2010 03:54
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA3QQ42EAX26MD9QGBBEQQ60JXE
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel delivered an invitation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday (May 26) to visit the White House. Emanuel was on a family visit to Israel.
    "On behalf of the President, who will be in Canada, and he has asked me to extend an invitation to you to come visit him at the White House for a working meeting to discuss both our shared security interests as well our close cooperation on seeking peace between Israel and it's neighbours," Emanuel told Netanyahu.
    Israeli commentators portrayed the surprise talks as an attempt by Obama to counter criticism by U.S. Jewish leaders and in Congress over what was widely seen as his cold shoulder toward Netanyahu after a public dispute over settlement policy.
    Obama will host Netanyahu on Tuesday (June 1) after the Israeli leader completes a visit to France where he will attend a ceremony welcoming Israel to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and to Canada.
    Emanuel was on a private visit to Israel for his teenage son's Bar Mitzvah, a Jewish coming-of-age ceremony.
    Netanyahu last saw Obama in March in a low-profile White House meeting that was portrayed in Israel as a snub to its leader because it did not include the usual photo-opportunity afforded visiting foreign leaders.
    Earlier that month, Israel embarrassed Washington and angered Palestinians by announcing during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden a project to build 1,600 homes for Jews in Ramat Shlomo, in an area of the occupied West Bank it annexed to Jerusalem.
    Announcement of the settlement plan, which Netanyahu has said would not get under way for at least two years, led to a delay in the start of indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks, which eventually began under U.S. mediation three weeks ago.
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