U.S. Republican lawmaker says ties with Israel remain strong

Republican U.S. House Speaker John Boehner met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday amid a visit to the region, one month after Netanyahu's controversial congress speech.

Boehner is the first U.S. politician to visit Israel since the March 17 elections, and he took the opportunity to congratulate Netanyahu for being reelected to the role of Prime Minister.

Prior to their Jerusalem meeting, the two made statements regarding the importance of the connection between Israel and the U.S.

"Let me use the opportunity of this visit in order to reiterate something that I have said before but needs to be said again and again," the Israeli Prime Minister said Wednesday afternoon, according to a statement from his office.

"The people of Israel know that we have no better friend in the world than the U.S., and the American people should know that they have no better friend in the world than Israel," the Prime Minister added.

Netanyahu explained that the importance of this alliance is imminent amid the "anti-western, anti-democratic and anti-American" extremism existed in the Middle East, referring among others to the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group, as well as Iran.

Boehner repeated Netanyahu's sentiment on the close alliance between the countries, saying the bond between the countries is "as strong as ever," with ongoing cooperation on different levels, despite some political disagreements.

Netanyahu, who lived in the U.S. in his early days and worked closely with Republican politicians then, has continued to cooperate with Republicans and supported Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama's political rival, in the previous elections.

Several republican senators have visited Israel in the past couple of years under Netanyahu's leadership. The Israeli Prime Minister is supported, among others, by American mogul Sheldon Adelson, a big supporter of the Republican party.

On March 3, Netanyahu spoke in front of congress following an invitation from Bohner, against the upcoming deal between the P5+1 (U.S., Britain, Germany, China, France and Russia, plus Germany) countries and Iran over the latter's nuclear program.

Netanyahu, as well as U.S. Republican lawmakers, warned against a deal that would keep Iran's ability to manufacture nuclear weapons.

The speech was scorned by the White House and President Obama, as it was planned behind their back and went against the White House's stance of striving to reach a final deal.

This incident, which Netanyahu's critics said was made for internal propaganda ahead of the March 17 elections, further deteriorated the relationship between the two countries.

The strong connection between the countries suffered due to personal clashes between the Israeli Prime Minister and the U.S. President, as well as different views on how to approach the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Iranian nuclear plan. Endit