Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama met for about 75 minutes Wednesday evening began shortly after the Israeli leader’s arrival at the White House, and following a brief news conference with the press corps.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice were also present in the Oval Office during the meeting.

On the agenda for discussion were the American-led air strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Iran’s nuclear development program and the ongoing question of how to resolve the dilemma of what to do about the Palestinian Authority. It was not known whether the American president planned to discuss security concessions over Gaza as well.

The meeting began at 11 am, and several commentators noted on the Twitter social networking site that Obama didn’t offer any lunch to the Israeli prime minister. “Perhaps Bibi, unlike (India’s Prime Minister) Modi, insisted on food for himself and wasn’t happy to just watch Obama eat,” tweeted one individual.

In a clearly determined bid to maintain a cordial tone, Netanyahu said that he appreciates Obama’s efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon of mass destruction, according to the Reuters news agency.
Obama told Netanyahu that efforts are needed to change the status quo between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, according to LBCI News.

Israel is committed to a “two-state solution” with the Palestinian Authority, Netanyahu told reporters during their pre-meeting briefing. But any agreement, he said, will require “thinking outside the box” and must include “rock solid” security arrangements. Obama and Netanyahu reportedly discussed during their meeting the current status of the relationship between Israel and the terrorist factions in Gaza, including the region’s ruling Hamas terrorist organization.

The two men are clearly focused on different priorities, with Obama keeping his eyes on the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and against whom the U.S. is leading coalition air strikes in Syria and Iraq. Netanyahu, meanwhile, has remained concerned about the overriding progress of Iran’s nuclear development program and putting a full stop to the centrifuges that are working overtime to enrich uranium at progressively higher levels.

The Israeli prime minister also noted while speaking to a group of Jewish leaders yesterday in New York that it is important for the U.S. to realize there isn’t much difference between Gaza’s ruling Hamas terrorist organization and ISIS, against whom Obama has declared war.

Both share a “fanatic ideology,” he pointed out, and both use “savage” methods. He warned, “The more they have the capability to realize their ambitions the more they will unleash their pent-up aggression against our common civilizations.”

To emphasize the similarities, Netanyahu shared a photo of an impending public execution of a man whose head was covered with a sack, shot in Gaza.

“This isn’t ISIS,” he pointed out. “This is Hamas.” During Israel’s counter terror Operation Protective Edge this summer, Hamas executed dozens of Gaza residents “just to impose fear and force the population… into submission.” The only difference, Netanyahu said, is that ISIS “beheads its victims,” and Hamas “puts a bullet in the back of their heads.”

To the families of those murdered, the horror is the same, he asserted.

A man who jumped the fence surrounding the White House grounds earlier this month actually made it all the way to the East Room, The Washington Post reported on Monday, Sept. 29.

Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, overpowered a female Secret Service agent inside the North Portico entrance of the White House.

Gonzalez then ran through the East Room, making it nearly all the way through before he was tackled as he tried to enter the Green Room, a Congressional official said.

Previously journalists were told by Secret Service officials that the man had only reached a few steps inside the North Portico entrance before he was stopped.

It is expected the startling breach in security will be reviewed at a bipartisan hearing with testimony from Secret Service director Julia Pierson on Tuesday.

According to The New York Times, Pierson will be raked over the coals by the panel over what appears to be a possible erosion in the agency’s ability to protect the president and his family.

Now that the war has ended with the Hamas terrorist rulers of Gaza, the Obama White House has apparently unclenched its fist and allowed the Pentagon to send Israel some of the Hellfire missiles that were on ‘back order.’

Ammunition used by Israeli tanks and other essential military supplies had also been held up due to a new requirement that any military supplies undergo special review by staff at the State Department and the White House.

The mandate came in mid-August during Operation Protective Edge, while Israel was struggling with half a dozen or more broken cease-fires and more than 300,000 internally displaced citizens fleeing Hamas rocket fire.

The hold on military supplies was dubbed an issue of “bureaucracy” according to a senior military official. A special effort was made to appear as though the process had not been intended to convey disapproval by the Obama administration; but it was clear to most media, at least, that the unprecedented procedure had been instigated by an angry president fuming over Israel’s war with Gaza.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is now preparing in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly on Monday and then to meet on Wednesday with President Barack Obama.

The prime minister is planning to “set the record straight” at the United Nations on Monday. It will be interesting to see what happens at his meeting with Obama.

The U.S. Senate approved the “ISIS bill” 78-22 in a ‘last gasp’ vote Thursday, approving a measure to train and arm 5,000 Syrian rebels one day after members of Congress had done the same.

After the vote, both senators and congress members then fled Capitol Hill, heading for a grueling fall campaign prior to midterm elections.

The bill itself went straight to the desk of President Barack Obama to be signed into law.

But even as the president prepared to approve the measure intended to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group, U.S. military leaders are growing more concerned. So is the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), who was quoted by the Washington Post as saying Obama should listen to his commanders.

“I think it’s very important that he does follow the advice and counsel that he receives, the professional advice of the military. They are the ones best suited to do that,” McKeon said.

But as to Obama’s ban on ‘boots on the ground,’ the lawmaker added, “I realize he’s commander in chief, he has the final say and the final obligation and responsibility. I would also request that he not take options off the table.”

Retired Marine General James Mattis told the House Intelligence Committee in testimony on Thursday that Obama’s ban on combat troops in the Middle East would cripple the military.

“Half-hearted or tentative efforts – or air strikes alone – can backfire on us and actually strengthen our foes’ credibility,” Mattis told American lawmakers. “We may not wish to reassure our enemies in advance that they will not see American boots on the ground.”

The testimony followed a public suggestion two days earlier by the chairman of the Joint chiefs of Staff, U.S. Army General Martin Dempsey, not to rule out the possibility. According to the Post, Dempsey pointed out that Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander for the Middle East, had already made the recommendation at least once in connection with a case in Iraq – but was overruled.

The U.S. military has carried out 176 air strikes against ISIS in Iraq since August 8. Obama has hinted the U.S. will also carry out air strikes against the terror group in Syria as well.

But given the clear opposition expressed by Iran and Russia, let alone Syria — and to some extent, the threatening posture maintained by Iran over the issue – it is not at all clear when or even if Obama will actually send American warplanes into Syrian skies.

The White House has unblocked the weapons shipment to Israel that they had recently blocked, according to a report on Israel’s Channel 1 TV. Among the more notable weapon blocked were Hellfire missiles.

The White House blocked the weapons shipment, after learning that Israel had standardized procedures in place to purchase weapons, and didn’t need to go through the White House for any approval.

President Obama reportedly blocked the shipment to show his disapproval of Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned Hamas terrorists Sunday not to underestimate Israel’s ability to hold out under any ‘war of attrition’ the group might attempt.

“We are in the midst of a combined military and diplomatic campaign,” Netanyahu said at the start of Sunday’s government cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

“From the first day, the Israeli delegation to Cairo has worked under clear instructions: Insist on the security needs of the State of Israel. Only if there is a clear response to our security needs will we agree to reach understandings,” he said.

The comment came in response to the rejection by Hamas of an 11-point tentative plan reached Thursday in Cairo, in connection which Palestinian Arab representatives had expressed optimism.

That was before Hamas leaders had made the requisite pilgrimage to see politburo chief Khaled Mashaal, who is based comfortably in Qatar – not with his suffering brethren in Gaza – and who over the weekend with his Qatari handlers immediately nixed the deal.

Israeli officials had maintained silence about the plan throughout the weekend, other than to say that any deal must meet the security needs of the Jewish State.

On Saturday night, Hamas leaders returned to Gaza with bluster and brazen attitude, demanding the inclusion of two points that were turned down by Israel: construction of a seaport and airport in Gaza. Both would create an instant express route for the import of weaponry into the enclave, totally impractical from Israel’s security standpoint since Hamas has proved itself to be without honor and incapable of sticking to agreements or cease-fires for any length of time.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal revealed the White House placed a ‘hold’ on an imminent delivery of Hellfire missiles that was due to arrive in Israel and issued an order to the Pentagon that future military transactions must be scrutinized directly by the State Department and the Oval Office.

The move emboldened Hamas and its backers, who might otherwise have reached the point of understanding that it was in the best interest of Gazans for Hamas to reach an agreement for quiet, if not peace, with Israel. Instead, the terrorist group decided it would prefer to continue its campaign of terror.

Late Saturday night, Hamas officials announced that Israel should prepare for a “long war of attrition” if the Jewish State is not willing to “meet all our demands.”

But that’s a mistake, Netanyahu said, despite the sporadic demonstrations that terrorists have seen on television protesting against the government’s handling of the conflict.

“In the past month Hamas has taken a severe military blow. We destroyed its network of tunnels that it took years to dig. We intercepted the rockets that it had massed in order to carry out thousands of deadly strikes against the Israeli home front. And we foiled the terrorist attacks that it tried to perpetrate against Israeli civilians – by land, sea and air,” Netanyahu said.

“If Hamas thinks that it can cover up its military loss with a diplomatic achievement, it is mistaken,” he warned. “If Hamas thinks that continued sporadic firing will cause us to make concessions, it is mistaken.

“As long as quiet is not restored, Hamas will continue to take very harsh blows. If Hamas thinks that we cannot stand up to it over time, it is mistaken.

“In the stormy and unstable Middle East in which we live, it is not enough that there be more strength, determination and patience are also necessary. Hamas knows that we are very strong but maybe it thinks that we do not have enough determination and patience, and here it is making a big mistake.”

A New York lawmaker says officials at the White House have “almost been looking for a fight” with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu since the day President Barack Obama entered the White House.

U.S. Representative Peter King (R-NY) the New York Post on Thursday, “The Obama people came into office with almost a chip on their shoulder against Netanyahu. He was treated worse than most enemies are treated. They were almost looking for a fight with Netanyahu and they got it.”

King made his remarks against the background of a piece published in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week describing the outrage of officials at the White House upon their discovery that Israel was about to receive a routine delivery of Hellfire missiles from the United States via the Pentagon.

There was nothing unusual about the transaction, which was a standard military-to-military order, as confirmed to media by spokespersons for defense departments on both sides of the Atlantic. But the Obama White House is still relatively unfamiliar with “standard operating procedures” in military matters — as many have pointed out — and upon discovering the weapons about to be sent to Israel, immediately put the delivery on hold.

According to the WSJ report, the Obama White House subsequently put the brakes on every military delivery to Israel, requiring future intense scrutiny of every single item henceforth.

A second lawmaker who has just returned from a visit to the Jewish State — U.S. Representative Steve Israel (D-LI), was less than pleased at the news.

“I can tell you firsthand,” he said, “When terrorists are firing rockets, it’s no time for behind-the-scenes speculation.”

State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf, meanwhile, made a lukewarm effort at damage control, claiming it’s “natural” to review such shipments “in any crisis.”