Obama, Netanyahu Reaffirm Bonds, Even as Old Rifts Linger

Latest spate of Middle East violence overshadows talks between president, Israeli prime minister on sidelines of United Nations General Assembly.

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu capped years of frayed ties with a meeting on Wednesday that was intended to highlight a $38 billion military aid agreement between the two allies.

Both leaders on Wednesday described the bond between the U.S. and Israel as unbreakable, but the talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly were overshadowed by a new spate of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Hours before Messrs. Obama and Netanyahu met, Israeli security forces shot and wounded a Palestinian teenager after she refused to stop at a checkpoint between the West Bank and Israel. The shooting marked the sixth straight day of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Mr. Obama addressed the recent strife at the start of the meeting with Mr. Netanyahu, saying “our hearts go out to those who have been injured, both Israeli and Palestinian.” He also raised U.S. concerns about Israeli settlements, a sore spot between the two leaders.

A senior administration official said after the private, 30-minute meeting that Mr. Obama addressed the settlement issue by raising “profound U.S. concerns about the corrosive effect that that is having on the prospects of two states,” and that Mr. Netanyahu pushed back.

“They’ve never papered over their differences,” another senior administration official said.

Before the meeting, Mr. Obama said he would determine from Mr. Netanyahu whether there is any chance to make progress on the Middle East peace process in coming months.

“Obviously I’m only going to be president for another few months. The prime minister will be there quite a bit longer, and our hope will be that in these conversations, we can get a sense of how Israel sees the next few years, what the opportunities are and what the challenges are,” Mr. Obama said.

Mr. Netanyahu said “the greatest opportunity” in U.S.-Israeli relations “is to advance the goal of peace,” adding, “That’s a goal that I and the people of Israel will never give up on.”

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