President Barack Obama will not meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the latters controversial March 3 visit to Washington, the White House announced Thursday, saying a meeting could be perceived as an attempt by the administration to influence Israels March 17 elections. The president will not be meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu because of the proximity to the Israeli election, which is just two weeks after his planned address to the U.S. Congress, National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a emailed statement. “As a matter of long-standing practice and principle, we do not see heads of state or candidates in close proximity to their elections, so as to avoid the appearance of influencing a democratic election in a foreign country, she said. Netanyahus visit has further strained already difficult relations between the Israeli leader and Obama. Republican House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of Congress for the express purpose of challenging the presidents approach to Islamist extremism and negotiations with Iran over that countrys nuclear program. The White House, which found out about the visit from Boehners office, accused Israel of breaching diplomatic protocol under which foreign leaders advise host leaders of pending visits.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 00:34:31 +0000
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