Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US Sen. David Perdue on Wednesday in Jerusalem. Photo: US Congress.

JNS.org – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu honed in on the threats posed by the Islamic State terror group and a nuclear Iran during a meeting with US Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) on Wednesday in Jerusalem.

“Today, the forces of militant Islam are on the march throughout the Middle East,” Netanyahu said at the start of the meeting. “Islamic State just barbarically massacred 21 Egyptian civilians in Libya. Our hearts go out to the families and to the people of Egypt facing this horrible savagery. And Israel will continue to stand side-by-side with Egypt in the battle against terrorism, which threatens us all.”

Netanyahu said that while Islamic State “butchers the innocent,” the Islamic Republic of Iran “is relentlessly pursuing nuclear weapons with the express purpose of destroying the State of Israel.”

“The P5+1’s latest proposal [in the nuclear talks] won’t stop [Iran],” said the prime minister. “The Iranians of course know the details of that proposal, and Israel does too. So when we say that the current proposal would lead to a bad deal, a dangerous deal, we know what we’re talking about, Senator [Perdue]. I’m open to hearing the positions and arguments of those who think differently and I would hope that they would be open to hear the arguments of Israel as well.”

Netanyahu told Perdue that the senator’s visit to Israel “demonstrates your friendship and your commitment to the strong American-Israeli alliance.”