U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Middle East swing with fellow U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID). The conversation focused on several key issues facing Israel and the United States, including the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, the ongoing Middle East peace process and US-Israeli cooperation on military and intelligence matters.

    Calling Israel America’s greatest ally in the Middle East, Senator Toomey pledged to work toward advancing joint national security interests and pursuing a realistic peace agreement that “does not compromise Israel’s security.”

    Tuesday’s meeting took place in Jerusalem.

    Just last week, Toomey criticized President Barack Obama’s speech, in which the President called for a peace deal based on Israel’s pre-1967 borders. Toomey says the proposal “undermines our ally Israel’s negotiating position, demonstrates insensitivity to the security threats Israel faces on a daily basis and ignores the historical context that has shaped the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for more than 60 years.”