White House: Obama Understands Netanyahu’s Decision To Cancel Visit

President Barack Obama
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President Obama spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this morning. He told Netanyahu that he understood the prime minister’s decision to cancel a White House visit and return to Israel, the White House announced moments ago.

Netanyahu canceled his visit to return home after an Israeli naval raid killed 10 pro-Palestinian activists.

“The President expressed deep regret at the loss of life in today’s incident, and concern for the wounded, many of whom are being treated in Israeli hospitals,” the White House said. “The President also expressed the importance of learning all the facts and circumstances around this morning’s tragic events as soon as possible.”

Here’s the full readout from the call:

This morning between 10:00 and 10:15 AM CDT, the President spoke by phone with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He said he understood the Prime Minister’s decision to return immediately to Israel to deal with today’s events. They agreed to reschedule their meeting at the first opportunity. The President expressed deep regret at the loss of life in today’s incident, and concern for the wounded, many of whom are being treated in Israeli hospitals. The President also expressed the importance of learning all the facts and circumstances around this morning’s tragic events as soon as possible.

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