Netanyahu Rejected Obama’s Invitation

F542920B-425B-4A68-A8E5-9F691D595539_mw1024_s_nKABUL: (MEP) The White House said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused the invitation to meet the US president Barack Obama.

The National Security Council spokesperson, Ned Price said Monday the White House had actually sent an invitation to the Israeli premier two weeks ago for the meeting scheduled for March 18.

The Israeli leader decided to cancel his visit to Washington, despite being expected to make the trip to the U.S. for the annual summit of a prominent pro-Israeli advocacy group. He will now deliver his remarks by video conference.

However, the U.S. government said that it only learnt of Netanyahu’s decision through media reports, while it denied “false” reports in the Israeli media that the White House was unable to find a date to meet with the Israeli leader.

“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,” Price said.

According to Israeli media, Bibi was supposed to arrive in the US on March 20, the day Obama is set to travel to Cuba following a historic deal between the two countries.

The latest deterioration in U.S.-Israeli relations comes before Obama’s vice-president, Joe Biden, visits Israel, where he is expected to discuss military aid to the country.

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