Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on the eve of his controversial trip to Washington that he still has “respect” for President Obama.
“I want to take this opportunity to say that I respect US President Barack Obama,” Netanyahu said Saturday night at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
“I believe in the strength of the relationship between Israel and the US and in their strength to overcome differences of opinion,” he told the Jerusalem Post.
The prime minister arrives in Washington on Sunday afternoon, and will give a speech before Congress Tuesday morning. Obama will not greet him.
Republican House Speaker John Boehner had invited the prime minister in an end run around the president, who’s boycotting the speech, as are Vice President Joe Biden and dozens of Democrats.
Netanyahu has joined with US conservatives in criticizing Obama as going soft in ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran. The president is reportedly privately livid over Netanyahu’s visit.