Obama congratulates Netanyahu on election victory

President Barack Obama reached out to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on his recent victory in Israel’s election. Obama conversed with Netanyahu over the phone on Thursday. According to the White House, Obama told Netanyahu that the U.S. values its close security cooperation and longstanding alliance with Israel. The two leaders agreed to continue have discussions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other issues. White House reps added Obama also restated U.S. support for Palestinian statehood. The U.S. has been reprimanding Netanyahu for declaring resistance to Palestinian statehood just ahead of Israel’s election Tuesday. Obama and Netanyahu deliberated about U.S. nuclear negotiations with Iran. Netanyahu has always been critical of Obama’s diplomatic outreach to Iran.