After a rocky several months for the relationship between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the two leaders will meet Monday at the White House to chart a course for the remainder of Mr. Obama's second term.
On the agenda: Regional security issues, implementation of the nuclear deal with Iran, and the intractable issue of Israeli-Palestinian relations. And while the meeting may give the leaders a chance to extend an olive branch to each other after several public disagreements, little else is likely to be accomplished.
The two countries are working on an agreement to extend a 10-year package of military aid from the U.S. to Israel that expires in 2017, but administration officials have said that there's no chance it will be complete by this meeting. And on the thornier issue of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the creation of a Palestinian state, officials openly admit that won't be a part of Mr. Obama's legacy.
Author
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Ilan Goldenberg
Former Senior Fellow and Director, Middle East Security Program
Ilan Goldenberg is the former Senior Fellow and Director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. He is a foreign policy and defense expe...
