Lawmakers urge Obama to mend fences with Netanyahu

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are urging President Obama to mend fences with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The relationship between the two leaders has soured in the run-up to the prime ministers election triumph this week. But members of Congress say its time to bury the hatchet.

Lawmakers say Obama should do so himself.

Now that he has been elected by the people in a free and fair election, the president should reach out to him. The president should say, OK, there are too many issues that are important to us, said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee who lost to Obama in the 2008 presidential race.

Ill bet you that the president doesnt, just because of the way he has been behaving since the elections last November, he added.

Rep. Eliot Engel (N.Y.), the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, My observation is that their disagreements are on policy as well as perhaps personality, and I would hope that both men would reach out to each other and work through it. ... The U.S.-Israel relationship is more important than the relationship between any two individuals.

Now that the election is over, continuing to mend tensions in the U.S.-Israel relationship needs to be a priority for everyone, regardless of political affiliation, said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee. I hope the new Israeli government can work toward that end.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that Obama will call Netanyahu in coming days.

Earnest noted that, in previous elections, Obama has waited until the prime minister formed a new coalition government.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is eyeing a presidential bid in 2016, said it would be good for the president and prime minister to try to bury some animosities and move forward.

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Lawmakers urge Obama to mend fences with Netanyahu