In the CABLE: The meeting between President Barack Obama and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ran more than an hour longer than scheduled, according to the press pool report by CongressDaily's George Condon:Posted by G, Z, & or B at 4:51 PMTalks between the two leaders went considerably beyond the scheduled time. Though their lunch was to have begun at 12:25, they were not joined by the pool until 1:25 and the session did not end until 2 p.m. The body language was good,.....No aides were seated on the couches. But several aides were standing near the Resolute desk. Robert Gibbs, Rahm Emanuel and George Mitchell spent much of the session leaning on the desk. Secretary Gates stood with his arm on the chair behind the desk. General Jones stood near the desk.
One side note: Jonathan Peled, Minister-Counselor and spokesman for the Israeli Embassy, said that he believed part of the Prime Minister's gift to the president was what he described as "an ancient bible." He said he did not know what the President had given the visiting prime minister.
You have the words or will have them soon. They talked at length about policy toward Iran, with the President warning against "artificial" deadlines and noting that Iran is undergoing elections. Both leaders said an Iran with a nuclear arsenal would be destabilizing for the region. Both reaffirmed a "special relationship" between the two countries. The President restated his commitment to a two-state solution. The prime minister said that the Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
The White House has released a transcript of the 1:21pm press availability of President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahufollowing their three hour meeting. Obama and Netanyahu each delivered statements, then took a couple questions; transcript here
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