Israel’s Prime Minister, Netanyahu, had some positive words for Obama in removing all if not most of Syria’s chemical weapons.
In explaining the process of removal of chemical weapons, Netanyahu said, “It’s not complete yet. We are concerned that they may not have declared all of their capacity. But what has been removed has been removed. We’re talking about 90 percent. We appreciate the effort that has been made and the results that have been achieved.”
This comes off as rather uncharacteristic since Netanyahu has been rather open about his disagreements with the U.S Administration with respect to the ongoing Iran nuclear negotiations as well as the Israeli-Palestinian talks that have stalled.
Of course, the last round of negotiations between Israel and Palestine failed because the former continues to expand settlements in the West Bank.
Yet it seems clear that Jerusalem is relieved that the chemical weapons that were a part of the regime of Bashar al-Assad have been removed considering the fact that they are a murderous threat to the Israel’s existence.
What was also discussed was the accusation of espionage of Israel in the United States and to which Netanyahu clearly denied both direct and indirect acts of espionage.
The Prime Minister went on to say that he had just completed a productive meeting with Chuck Hagel on the dead peace process. He also went to point out that while he wants a demilitarized Palestine that recognizes, a repeat of the ‘Gaza experience’ isn’t something he is looking forward to.
And while he accuses Abbas of not doing anything, Obama and other European leaders think that he is unwilling to confront the settler lobby so as to convince Palestinians that a compromise, as painful as it is, is on the cards.