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Israel's Netanyahu to meet Obama, discussing security aid

Xinhua, November 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he hopes to lay out the grounds for U.S. military support to Israel for the next decade when he meets with U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday.

His four-day-long visit to Washington D.C. will mark the first meeting between the two leaders since Netanyahu's controversial address on Iran to the U.S. Congress on March strained the relationships between them.

The two have not met since October 2014, as profound disagreements over July's nuclear deal with Iran have soured relations between these allies.

Netanyahu told his cabinet that his visit would focus on recent developments in the Middle East, including in Syria, and his country's security needs.

"I believe that this meeting is important to clarify the continuation of American aid to Israel in the coming decade," he said, according to a statement released by his office.

"It will be another step toward realizing an understanding in this direction," he said.

Noting the U.S. decades-long security support to Israel, he said the visit was aimed at "strengthening the security of the State of Israel... while maintaining Israel's comparative advantage in the face of a changing Middle East and a cycle that changes less."

Among the central issues will be the renewal of the 10-year Memorandum of Understanding that will expire in 2017, by which Israel received $3.1 billion a year, The Jerusalem Post said, adding that Israel expects to renew the deal, but wants to expand it to $50 billion over 10 years.

Netanyahu said he also intends to discuss with the Obama the recent deadly wave of violence in the West Bank and Israel, and discuss with him "possible progress with the Palestinians, or at least stabilizing the situation with them."

The six-week-long violence includes almost daily Palestinian stabbing attacks and heavy use of force by Israel to quell the unrest. So far, 11 Israelis died in Palestinian attacks and at least 75 Palestinians died during protests or following attacks.

Netanyahu will unveil a series of confidence-building measures toward the Palestinians during his meeting with Obama, Haaretz quoted National Security Adviser Joseph Cohen as saying last week. Endit