US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed on Friday after three hours of talks at the White House that there can be no role for Iran-backed Hamas in Palestinian-Israeli peace talks because it is a terrorist group that does not accept the existence of the Jewish state.
While the two leaders acknowledged some differences, they reaffirmed the unshakable alliance and "extraordinarily close relationship" between the United States and Israel.
In an Oval Office appearance, after their talks, Obama said that the frequency of his meetings with Netanyahu "is an indication of the extraordinary bonds between our two countries, as is the opportunity for the Prime Minister to address Congress during his visit here."
The Israeli leader will address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.
"I know that's an honor that's reserved for those who have always shown themselves to be a great friend of the United States and is indicative of the friendship between our countries," Obama said.
"Obviously there are some differences between us in the precise formulations and language, and that's going to happen between friends," Obama said, adding: "What we are in complete accord about is that true peace can only occur if the ultimate resolution allows Israel to defend itself against threats."
"Israel’s security will remain paramount in US evaluations of any prospective peace deal," he added.
The president also said Israel could not be expected to negotiate with a party that refuses to recognize its right to exist, in a reference to the Islamic Hamas movement which controls Gaza and uses the territory as a launching pad for rocket attacks against Israel.
"The Palestinians are going to have to answer some very difficult questions about this agreement that’s been made between Fatah and Hamas. Hamas is an organization that has resorted to terror, that has refused to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist. It is not a partner for a significant or realistic peace process," Obama said.
"As I said yesterday during the speech, the Palestinians are going to have to explain how they can credibly engage in serious peace negotiations in the absence of observing the Quartet principles that have been put forward previously."
In a major Mideast address at the State Department a day before meeting with Netanyahu, Obama said that a future Palestinian state "would be based on the 1967 lines with land swaps."
Some analysts interpreted this as a major change in US policy while others saw little new in the formulation.
"I reiterated and we discussed in depth the principles that I laid out yesterday, the belief that our ultimate goal has to be a secure Israeli state, a Jewish state, living side by side in peace and security with a contiguous, functioning and effective Palestinian state," Obama told reporters.
Netanyahu responded by saying that while Israel was prepared to make "generous compromises" for peace, "it cannot go back to the 1967 lines because these lines are indefensible and because they don't take into account certain changes that have taken place on the ground, demographic changes that have taken place over the last 44 years."
Netanyahu insisted that Israel's 1967 footprint was nine miles wide in places and narrower than the "Beltway" highway surrounding Washington.
Israelis argue that returning to the former border configuration would leave Israeli population centers vulnerable.
Netanyahu also stated that Palestinian refugees who fled in 1948 and their descendants could find a home in a future Palestinian state but not in Israel. "That’s not going to happen," he said.
"I want peace. What we all want is a peace that will be genuine, that will hold, that will endure. And I think that we both agree that a peace based on illusions will crash eventually on the rocks of Middle Eastern reality, and that the only peace that will endure is one that is based on reality, on unshakeable facts," he said.
Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would not negotiate with a Palestinian government that included Hamas, which he described as "the Palestinian equivalent of al Qaeda."
He turned to Obama and said: "Hamas has just attacked you, Mr. President, and the United States, for ridding the world of bin Laden."
Netanyahu has said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "must choose between keeping his pact with Hamas and making peace with Israel."
"In the coming days and weeks and months, I intend to work with you to seek a peace that will address our security concerns, seek a genuine recognition that we wish from our Palestinian neighbors to give a better future for Israel and for the entire region," he told Obama.
During his exchange with Obama, Netanyahu did not mention the second part of the president’s stipulation -- namely that land swaps between Israel and the Palestinians, would change those 1967 lines to ensure two secure, contiguous states.
The White House insisted that it had never said that Israel should return to a narrow definition of its 1967 territorial lines.
Privately, White House officials appeared infuriated by Netanyahu's combative approach, which even included a lecture for Obama on the historic struggles of the Jewish people.
"As I told you in our conversation, we don't have a lot of margin for error. And because, Mr. President, history will not give the Jewish people another chance."
On Sunday, Obama will address the pro-Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), before heading off on a week-long trip to Europe.
Netanyahu will also speak to AIPAC and will make his joint address to Congress, encouraged by Republican leaders who support his position.