McCain calls on Obama to reconcile with Netanyahu and reject Palestinian state

US Senator John McCain has accused President Barack Obama of throwing a “temper tantrum” over comments made by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his election campaign. Speaking to CNN, the Republican hawk said that America’s Middle East policy has reached an “unimaginable” state.

According to McCain, the US Congress should reconsider its funding to the UN if the Security Council passes a resolution on Palestinian statehood. He added that Obama should not even consider supporting such a move at the international organisation and called on the president to set aside his personal differences with Netanyahu and focus on the war against ISIS.

“Personal differences with Netanyahu affect Obama’s ability to make decisions and implement common political goals,” he alleged. “The time has come for us to work with our friends in Israel to stop the rising tide of Islamic State and the Iranian moves, which have started to affect every part of the region.”

President Obama criticised the Israeli prime minister for warning voters about the “risk” of allowing Arab citizens of the state to vote in the country’s general election. Obama insists that the two-state solution is the only option to ensure Israel’s security in the long term. Despite Netanyahu’s apparent rejection of this solution, Obama also renewed America’s continued support for Israel and stressed that cooperation between the two sides in the military and intelligence fields will continue “in order to maintain the security of the Israeli people”.

The Likud Party, led by Netanyahu, won a majority of Knesset seats in the election.