Netanyahu says no bad blood with Obama

In his first interview since reelection, Netanyahu rejected the notion that his reelection and the stormy campaign will leave their mark on Israel-American relations.

“I think there’s an unbreakable bond between Israel and the United States; the president said that, I said that….” says Netanyahu in an interview to MSNBC that will be aired this evening.

Asked about his personal ties with Obama, Netanyahu says, “Well I think that is reflected in the relationship between the president of the United States and the prime minister of Israel, we have… we can have differences but we have so many things that unite us so we have a situation in the Middle East that is very dangerous and presents a common challenge to us.”

Netanyahu adds that “Secretary [John] Kerry called me yesterday and I’m sure I’ll be speaking to President Obama soon. We’ll work together, we have to. We have our differences on Iran. By coming to the US I didn’t mean any disrespect or any attempt at partisanship, I was merely warning of something that I view could endanger the survival of Israel and I felt it my obligation to speak up there,” the prime minister says.

“But there’s so many areas where we must work together, we will work together with the US and with the president, because we have no other alternative… We have to consult each other, not have fiats or unilateral positions but negotiated peace with our neighbors. America has no greater ally than Israel and Israel has no greater ally than the United States.”