Netanyahu Calls on Obama to Retain Traditional US Policy

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called on US President Barack Obama Monday not to make any “drastic” changes to long-standing American policy vis-à-vis Israel during the last weeks of his administration.

Speaking at the annual state memorial service for IDF soldiers who fell in the 1956 Sinai Campaign (Operation Kadesh), Netanyahu asked Obama to stand by his 2013 promise to veto one-sided anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations Security Council and repeated his long-standing belief that only direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians would lead to a resumption of the political process between the sides.

The prime minister also thanked Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen for sending Palestinian firefighters to assist Israel teams battling brush fires around the country last week and said the team work on display at a time of emergency should serve as a blueprint for peace efforts.