Obama, Netanyahu look to mend fractured relationship

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will seek to mend their fractured relationship when they meet at the White House Monday, the first time they have talked face to face in more than a year.

Tensions over the U.S.-backed nuclear deal with Iran continue to strain ties between the longtime allies. But there’s also little hope of progress on other matters, with U.S. officials downplaying the chance of a breakthrough in ongoing security talks and ruling out the prospect of a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians before Obama leaves office in 14 months.

“The president has reached that conclusion that right now — baring a major shift — that the parties are not going to be in a position to negotiate a final status agreement,” White House Middle East adviser Rob Malley said ahead of Netanyahu’s arrival in Washington.

The meeting Monday will also be clouded by the controversy following Netanyahu’s appointment of a new spokesman who has spoken derisively about Obama. Ran Baratz, a conservative commentator, has suggested in Facebook posts that Obama is anti-Semitic and Secretary of State John Kerry cannot be taken seriously.

Even with the low expectations, the fact that Obama and Netanyahu are meeting at all is seen as an important step. While the two leaders have long had a chilly relationship, tensions boiled over earlier this year amid Obama’s pursuit of the Iranian nuclear deal.

Netanyahu views Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat to Israel and argued that the international agreement struck earlier this year leaves Tehran within reach of a bomb. The Israeli leader unsuccessfully lobbied U.S. lawmakers to oppose the deal, even delivering a rare speech to Congress that infuriated the White House.

Obama didn’t meet the prime minister when he traveled to Washington to address lawmakers, citing the proximity to Israeli elections that resulted in Netanyahu staying in power. The leaders also did not meet while Netanyahu was in the U.S. in September to speak to the United Nations General Assembly.

Officials in both governments have been discussing a new security agreement that could result in increased U.S. military assistance to Israel. U.S. officials said that, while they did not expect Monday’s talks to result in a final agreement, it was significant that the leaders planned to discuss the matter given that Netanyahu had refused to do so in the immediate aftermath of the nuclear agreement.