Israeli official: “Speech shows disconnect from Israel’s reality”

U.S. President Barack Obama does not understand the reality of Israel’s situation, a senior Israeli official said on Friday, just as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington D.C. ahead of his meeting with the American president. “The prime minister’s tough response expresses the disappointment with the absence of central issues that Israel demanded, chiefly the refugee (issue),” he added. Tensions between Israel and the U.S., already strained by a lengthy stall in Mideast peace talks, seemed to reach fever pitch following Obama’s speech, and ahead of Netanyahu’s planned address to Congress next week. Earlier Friday, the New York Times reported that the American president had told his close aides that he did not believe that Netanyahu would be able to make the concessions necessary to strike a peace deal that would even the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.