Full Transcript: US President Barack Obama’s Remarks at Press Conference with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhau looks on as U.S. President Barack Obama signs a guestbook. Photo: Facebook

Below is the full transcript of U.S. President Obama’s remarks at the opening of the press conference held with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on the first day of Obama’s first trip to Israel as U.S. president.

President Obama: Well, thank you Prime Minister Netanyahu for your kind words and for your wonderful welcome today. And I want to express a special thanks to Sara, as well as your two sons, for their warmth and hospitality. It was wonderful to see them. I did inform the Prime Minister that they are very good looking young men who clearly got their looks from their mother.

Prime Minister Netanyahu: Well, I could say the same of your daughters.

President Obama: This is true. Our goal is to improve our gene pool by marrying women who are better than we are.

Mr. Prime Minister, I want to begin by congratulating you on the formation of your new government. In the United States, we work hard to find agreement between our two major parties. Here in Israel you have to find consensus among many more. And few legislatures can compete with the intensity of the Knesset. But all of this reflects the thriving nature of Israel’s democracy.

As Bibi mentioned, this is our tenth meeting. We have spent more time together, working together, than I have with any leader. And this speaks to the closeness of our two nations, the interests and the values that we share and the depth and breadth of the ties between our two peoples.

As leaders, our most solemn responsibility is the security of our people. That’s job number 1. My job as President of the United States is first and foremost is to keep the American people safe. Bibi, as Prime Minister, your first task is to keep the people of Israel safe. And Israel’s security needs are truly unique, as I’ve seen myself.

In past trips I’ve visited villages near the Blue Line; I’ve walked through Israeli homes devastated by Hezbollah rockets; I’ve stood in Sderot and met with children who simply want to grow up free from fear; and flying in today, I saw again how Israel’s security can be measured in mere miles and minutes.

As President I have therefore made it clear America’s commitment to the security of the State of Israel as a solemn obligation, and the security of Israel is non-negotiable.

Today our military and intelligence personnel cooperate more closely than ever before; we conduct more joint exercises and training than ever before; we’re providing more security assistance and advanced technology to Israel than ever before. That includes more support for the missile defenses, like Iron Dome which I saw today and which has saved so many Israeli lives.

In short, and I don’t think this is just my opinion, Bibi you would share this, America’s support for Israel’s security is unprecedented and the alliance between our nations has never been stronger. That’s the sturdy foundation we built on today as we addressed a range of shared challenges.

As part of our long-term commitment to Israel’s security the Prime Minister and I agreed to begin discussions on extending military assistance to Israel. Our current agreement lasts through 2017, and we’ve directed our teams to start working on extending it for the years beyond.

I’m also pleased to announce that we will take steps to ensure that there is no interruption of funding for Iron Dome. As a result of decisions that I made last year Israel will receive approximately 200 million dollars this fiscal year and we will continue to work with Congress on future funding of Iron Dome.

These are further reminders that we will help to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge so that Israel can defend itself by itself against any threat.

We also discussed the way forward to a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians, and I very much welcomed Bibi’s words before I spoke.

I’ll be meeting with President Abbas tomorrow, and I will have more to say on this topic in the speech that I deliver to the Israeli people tomorrow. But for now, let me just reiterate that a central element of a lasting peace must be a strong and secure Jewish state, where Israel’s security concerns are met alongside a sovereign and independent Palestinian state.

In this regard I note that last year was a milestone. The first year in four decades when not a single Israeli citizen lost their life because of terrorism emanating from the West Bank. It’s a reminder that Israel has a profound interest in a strong and effective Palestinian Authority. And as the Prime Minister’s new government begins its work we’ll continue to look for steps that both Palestinians and Israelis can take to build trust and confidence upon which lasting peace will depend.

We also reaffirm the importance of ensuring Israel’s security given the changes and uncertainty in the region. As the United States supports the Egyptian people and their historic transition to democracy, we continue to underscore the necessity of Egypt contributing to regional security: preventing Hamas from rearming and upholding its peace treaty with Israel.

With respect to Syria, the United States continues to work with allies and friends and the Syrian opposition to hasten the end of Assad’s rule, to stop the violence against the Syrian people, and begin the transition towards a new government that respects the rights of all its people. Assad has lost his legitimacy to lead by attacking the Syrian people with almost every conventional weapon in his arsenal, including Scud missiles.

We have been clear that the use of Chemical weapons against the Syrian people would be a serious and tragic mistake. We also share Israel’s grave concern about the transfer of chemical or other weapons systems to terrorists such as Hezbollah, that might be used against Israel.

The Assad regime must understand that they will be held accountable for the use of chemical weapons of their transfer to terrorists.

And finally we continued our close consultation on Iran. We agree that a nuclear armed Iran would be a threat to the region a threat to the world and potentially an existential threat to Israel. We agree on our goal. We do not have a policy of containment when it comes to a nuclear Iran. Our policy is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. We prefer to resolve this diplomatically and there is still time to do so.

Iran’s leaders must understand however that they have to meet their international obligations. And meanwhile the international community will continue to increase the pressure on the Iranian government.

The United States will continue to consult closely with Israel on next steps, and I will repeat: all options are on the table; we will do what is necessary from prevent Iran from getting the world’s worst weapons.

Meeting none of these challenges will be easy. It will demand the same courage and resolve of those as those who have preceded us.

On Friday I’ll be honored to visit Mount Herzl and pay tribute to the leaders and soldiers who have laid down their lives for Israel. One of them was Yoni Netanyahu. In one of his letters home he wrote to his family: Don’t forget, strength, justice and staunch resolution are on our side and that is a great deal.

Mr. Prime Minister, like families across Israel, you and your family have suffered and sacrificed to defend your country and to pass it safe and strong to your children just as it was passed on to you.

Standing here today I can say with confidence that Israel’s security is guaranteed because it has a great deal on its side. Including the unwavering support of the United States of America.