President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at a news conference in Jerusalem, March 20, 2013. (Lior Mizrahi\/Getty)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI know you appreciate that Israel will never cede the right to defend itself to others, even its greatest friends, and Israel has no better friend than the United States,\u201d Netanyahu said. \u201cI look forward to continuing to work with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Iran, Netanyahu said that \u201cIsrael must be able to defend itself, by itself, against any threat\u201d — a statement he has made several times.<\/p>\n
Obama, on the first day of his first presidential trip to Israel, reiterated that the United States will not allow Iran to achieve nuclear capability.<\/p>\n
\u201cA nuclear-armed Iran would be a threat to the region, a threat to the world and potentially an existential threat to Israel,\u201d Obama said. \u201cOur policy is to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Obama said multiple times that \u201cwe prefer to resolve this diplomatically\u201d but that \u201call options are on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Netanyahu began his statement speaking about Iran, Obama started by saying that he is working to extend U.S. military assistance to Israel, including funding the Iron Dome missile defense system.<\/p>\n
Obama then spoke of the peace process, noting that he would discuss more during his speech to the Israeli public on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cA central element of a lasting peace is a strong and secure Jewish state where Israeli security needs are met alongside a sovereign and independent Palestinian state,\u201d Obama said. \u201cWe\u2019ll continue to look for steps that Israelis and Palestinians can take to build confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Netanyahu, who leads a new coalition government, said Israel remained committed to the two-state solution.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me be clear, Israel remains fully committed to peace and the solution of two states for two peoples,\u201d he said. \u201cWe extend our hand in friendship and peace to the Palestinian people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, Obama viewed the Iron Dome system and met with Israeli President Shimon Peres.<\/p>\n
On the remainder of the trip, which ends Friday, Obama will visit Israeli cultural sites and speak to a crowd of Israeli citizens, as well as go to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. He then will proceed to Jordan and a meeting with King Abdullah II.Several Syrian mortar shells have struck Israeli territory in recent months as the civil war in Syria rages.
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