White House ‘surprised’ by Benjamin Netanyahu declining invitation

[Geee]

Washington Times:

The White House is hitting back at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with unusually blunt language after the Israeli leader rejected an invitation to meet with President Obama in Washington next week.

 

White House officials said Mr. Netanyahu had requested the face-to-face meeting with the president, and they were “surprised” to learn through press reports that he had pulled out.

 

“We were looking forward to hosting the bilateral meeting, and we were surprised to first learn via media reports that the Prime Minister, rather than accept our invitation, opted to cancel his visit,” National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said. “Reports that we were not able to accommodate the prime minister’s schedule are false.”

A statement from the prime minister’s office said that Mr. Netanyahu “appreciated Obama’s willingness to meet him,” but he decided “not to go to Washington at this time, at the height of the primary election campaigns in the United States.”

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday that the episode was “simply a matter of scheduling.”

“There’s no reason to consider this a snub,” Mr. Earnest said. “We would have preferred to have heard about that [rejection] in person before hearing it in media reports. I think it’s just good manners.”

[Valin]

Meanwhile

American tourist killed in 1 of 3 terror attacks in Israel during Biden visit
Fox News
March 08, 2016

An American tourist was stabbed to death in one of three bloody terror attacks that rocked Israel Tuesday, just as Vice President Biden arrived in Tel Aviv to meet with leaders in an effort to stem Palestinian violence and mend frayed relations with the Jewish state.

Palestinian attackers shot and stabbed a dozen policemen and civilians in separate assaults around Israel, continuing near-daily incidents that began in October and have left more than 200 Israelis and Palestinians dead. Two Israeli police officers and 10 civilians were wounded in the attacks and three Palestinian attackers were killed.

Part of Biden's mission is to smooth over the latest bump in relations between the Obama White House and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a public falling out over the Iran nuclear deal last year. Biden will meet with Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday to discuss military aid, a session that comes on the heels of the prime minister canceling a trip to Washington.

 

(Snip)

 

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H/T Townhall Tipsheet