Netanyahu Calls Off Obama Visit, and Fingers Point
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS

WASHINGTON — When it comes to the strained relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, even a single missed meeting is cause for grievance and accusations.

So it was on Monday, when Mr. Netanyahu abruptly canceled a trip to Washington that was to have included a visit with Mr. Obama. The decision was quickly interpreted as the latest evidence of a lingering rift between two leaders whose public break last year over the Iran nuclear deal brought the American relationship with Israel to a bitter low.

Mr. Netanyahu had long planned to travel to Washington next week to attend the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, an influential pro-Israeli group known as Aipac.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Monday that he would not attend the conference because he had not been offered a meeting with Mr. Obama. The White House later dispatched a spokesman for the National Security Council to insist that it was Mr. Netanyahu who had turned down a chance to meet with the president. The spokesman also noted pointedly that Israeli officials had not personally informed Mr. Obama’s team of the prime minister’s change of plans.

“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,” the spokesman, Ned Price, said on Monday.

Mr. Price said that the Israeli government had requested a meeting on March 17 or 18, and that White House officials had offered one on the 18th.

Israeli officials said that no snub was intended. In a statement, the prime minister’s office said that Ron Dermer, the Israeli ambassador, had told Mr. Obama’s team on Friday that while Mr. Netanyahu appreciated the offer for a meeting, there was “a good chance that the prime minister would not be coming to Washington.”

The officials said that Mr. Netanyahu had merely wanted to stay away to avoid any perceived interference in the American election.

The rationale echoed the one given by Mr. Obama a year ago when he declined to invite Mr. Netanyahu to the White House while the prime minister was in Washington to address Aipac and speak to Congress to denounce the Iran agreement. That visit came a few weeks before Mr. Netanyahu faced re-election.

Mr. Netanyahu, who now plans to address the conference via satellite, was also concerned about meeting with the president before the two nations have ironed out differences over the size of a new 10-year American military aid package, officials said.

The latest tension unfolded just as Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was to travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories for meetings with Mr. Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president. The prime minister’s office said Mr. Netanyahu looked forward to the visit.

以色列總理不來了 白宮「驚訝」：看報導才知道

美國白宮官員7日抱怨，透過媒體才知道以色列總理內唐亞胡已取消訪問華府的行程，以色列8日反駁說，白宮早就知道內唐亞胡考慮不來。

內唐亞胡原本預定本月稍晚訪問華府，與美國總統歐巴馬會談，並在維護以色列利益的團體「美國以色列公共事務委員會」（AIPAC）年度大會上發表演說，不過內唐亞胡辦公室說，由於目前美國總統初選如火如荼，內唐亞胡不會去華府。

白宮說，以色列先前提出內唐亞胡與歐巴馬會面的兩個日期，供美國挑選，美國選擇其中一天。白宮國家安全會議發言人普萊斯說：「我們準備舉行雙邊會晤，卻透過媒體報導才驚訝得知，以色列總理沒接受我方邀請，反而取消行程。」

不過，內唐亞胡辦公室說，以色列駐美大使早就在上周告訴白宮，內唐亞胡「很可能」不會去，將在7日做最後決定，7日當天，以色列媒體錯誤報導說，內唐亞胡不會去，是因為不想見歐巴馬，後來內唐亞胡辦公室直接跟白宮說他不會去。

不願具名的以色列官員說，內唐亞胡不想在AIPAC大會上與美國總統參選人碰面，2012年內唐亞胡被認為支持共和黨總統參選人羅姆尼，這次他完全不想捲入美國政局、引起猜疑，「現在正是美國初選的混亂時期，我們不想蹚渾水」。

這件事再度顯示美國與最親近的中東盟國以色列的緊張關係。自從歐巴馬開始尋求與伊朗簽核子協定後，美國與以色列的關係再也沒好過。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/08/us/politics/netanyahu-calls-off-washington-visit-and-fingers-point.html

2016-03-09．聯合報．A13．國際．編譯李京倫