Israel, U.S.: Netanyahu Lays Out Peace Talk Terms In White House Press Conference

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a joint White House press conference Feb. 15 before entering a meeting. The two sides emphasized the enduring ties between their countries. Trump called for Israel to show flexibility on the issue of settlement building. The U.S. president also said that no solution to the conflict was off the table, saying that his goal was simply to find an outcome that all sides could agree to. Netanyahu said that settlements are not the core of the conflict and they are an issue to be resolved during peace talks. The prime minister laid out two prerequisites for successful talks: The Palestinians must officially recognize the right of the Israeli state to exist and must allow Israel to be the guarantor of security in all areas west of the Jordan River. The two leaders alluded to newfound Arab partners that could potentially be involved in talks. This is likely alluding to Arab states like Saudi Arabia and Jordan as potential guarantors of Palestinian pledges for peace talks. The Gulf Cooperation Council countries' interest in cooperation with Israel is more likely given mounting tensions with Iran. Netanyahu also said Trump has led an important effort in pointing out alleged Iranian violations of the nuclear deal with its ballistic missile tests and called for Trump to impose sanctions on Hezbollah.