NEW YORK: Fresh from upbeat talks with US President Barack Obama in Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew Wednesday to New York, where he spoke emotionally of the bond between Israel and the United States.
Addressing American Jewish leaders, Netanyahu recalled the first hours after the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.
"There were reactions that were different throughout the Middle East," he said. "In many places there were celebrations, in Israel people wept, they grieved."
"America has no better friend, no better ally than the state of Israel," he added.
Netanyahu told the audience he had had "a very good" meeting the previous day with Obama at the White House. "We discussed those issues that form a common bond between Israel and the United States," he said.
Earlier, the Israeli leader held a 45-minute meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Ban`s office said they had discussed the Middle East peace process, the Gaza blockade and the situation in southern Lebanon, where Israel says the Hezbollah militia has thousands of rockets aimed in its direction.
While Ban has welcomed Israel`s easing of its four-year blockade of the Gaza Strip was welcome, he said on Tuesday that more needed to be done to ease Palestinian hardships.
Israel has so far given the go-ahead for the international community to import construction materials into Gaza, and Netanyahu said Wednesday that further steps were under consideration.
The change in policy was triggered by the international condemnation of an Israeli commando raid on an aid flotilla trying to break the blockade that led to the deaths of nine Turkish activists on May 31.
Israel has set up a commission of inquiry into the events with the participation of British and Canadian observers, but some nations are calling at the United Nations for a fuller international probe.
Before leaving Washington, Netanyahu held talks with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and underscored security concerns that would need to be addressed in any future peace initiatives with the Palestinians.
Israeli officials traveling with the prime minister said Netanyahu told Gates that in eventual direct peace talks, Israel would want assurances that a Palestinian state would not be able to smuggle in heavy weaponry such as rockets.
The officials said that Netanyahu also told Gates that he feared that once US troops leave Iraq, Israel could once again face threats from the east for the first time in the past decade.
Saddam Hussein fired several Scud missiles into Israel during the first Gulf war, but the comment was also seen as a reference to Israel`s wish to remain in the Jordan Valley as part of a final peace deal, with the Israeli military acting as a buffer between the eastern flank of a Palestinian state and Jordan.
The officials said that Netanyahu had also discussed with Gates the possibility of Israel buying unspecified "defense products" from the United States in order to maintain its strategic advantage over its neighbors.
Gates`s press secretary, Geoff Morrell, said the "conversation focused largely on our efforts to help Israel continue to bolster its security in the face of regional threats.
"In addition to ongoing efforts to assist Israel`s deployment of systems to protect against ballistic missile and rocket attacks, Secretary Gates committed to also help Israel develop new defenses against emerging threats to its security," said Morrell, without elaborating.
An Israeli official said on Wednesday that the US administration had also indicated willingness to cooperate with Israel on civilian nuclear power projects.
Israel is not a signatory to the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but is widely believed to have about 200 nuclear warheads.
It has a longstanding policy of not confirming or denying a nuclear arms capability.
BDST: 0828 HRS, July 8, 2010
