Binyamin Netanyahu reasserted Israel's right to defend itself against the Iranian nuclear threat and be "masters of our own fate" at the end of Barack Obama's first day of his first presidential visit to Israel.
Despite the "great success" of Obama in mobilising the international community behind stringent sanctions against Iran, Netanyahu, the Israeli PM, insisted such an approach must be "augmented by the clear and credible threat of military action".
And although he accepted that Obama was determined to prevent Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon, Netanyahu said: "Israel can never cede the right to defend ourselves to others, even to the greatest of our friends. And Israel has no better friend than the United States of America."
Netanyahu said Obama's recent statement that it would take the Iranian regime about a year to manufacture a nuclear weapon was correct: "We have a common assessment." But, Netanyahu added, Iran's uranium enrichment programme could reach a "zone of immunity" earlier.
The two leaders strove to demonstrate a new warmth in their relationship, with Obama repeatedly referring to the Israeli prime minister by his nickname "Bibi". As Obama quoted a letter written by Netanyahu's brother, Yoni, who died in an operation to free Israeli hostages in Entebbe in 1976, the prime minister was visibly emotional. The pair also joked about their children, wives and gene pools.
Netanyahu obliquely acknowledged concerns about some rightwing elements of his new government sworn in earlier this week, but insisted that Israel remained "fully committed to peace [with the Palestinians] and to the solution of two states for two peoples. We extend our hand in peace and in friendship to the Palestinian people."
Obama appeared reluctant to dwell on the issue, twice saying he would return to it in his keynote speech on Thursday. He suggested both sides must take steps "to build trust and confidence upon which lasting peace can depend", but did not mention the critical issue of Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, which has derailed peace talks for the past two and a half years.
Obama said that as part of America's "long-term commitment to Israel's security, the prime minister and I agreed to begin discussions on extending military assistance to Israel." The current agreement lasted until 2017, but officials would begin work on extending it "to the years beyond".
In response to a question, Obama said the main goal of his visit was to let the Israeli people know they had a friend in the United States. That was evident in his remarks on landing in Israel earlier in the day, when he spoke of the eternal and unbreakable alliance between the two countries and of "America's unwavering commitment to Israel's security".
The trip has been billed primarily as a listening exercise by the White House, which has been anxious to set low expectations of tangible outcomes. The president will also travel to Ramallah to meet Palestinian leaders.
In his welcoming remarks after Obama touched down at Tel Aviv airport, Israeli president Shimon Peres thanked America for its unshakeable support and said "a world without your friendship would invite aggressions against Israel".
He added: "We long to see an end to the conflict with the Palestinians. To see the Palestinians enjoying freedom and prosperity in their own state. We extend our hand in peace to all the countries of the Middle East."
As he spoke, hundreds of Palestinian activists set up a protest village, consisting of four large tents and a Palestinian flag, on highly sensitive land east of Jerusalem, known as E1. They said their action was to "to claim our right as Palestinians to return to our lands and villages".
"We are here to send a message to President Obama, our struggle, our non-violent peaceful resistance will continue until we are free," said senior Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouthi at the site.
Police told the protesters to clear the area but took no immediate action. A similar protest village, named Bab al-Shams, was forcibly removed by Israeli security forces earlier this year. The Israeli military may be reluctant, however, to deploy bulldozers and tear gas against protesters during Obama's visit.
Palestinian protests against Obama's visit were mounted in Hebron, where hardline settlers have taken over the centre of the historic West Bank city, and Gaza. Many Palestinians are hostile to Obama, believing he failed to live up to early pledges to halt Israeli colonisation of the West Bank and tried to obstruct their quest for recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations.
Following the airport ceremonials, Obama inspected an Iron Dome mobile missile defence unit – largely funded by the US - which has been brought to Ben Gurion airport. He then flew to Jerusalem by helicopter.
Security was tight in the city, with roads around the King David hotel – the base for the 600-strong entourage – closed and at least 5,000 Israeli police officers on duty round the clock. US security service personnel were liaising with their counterparts in both Israel and the Palestinian territories.
The first day of Obama's visit was dominated by five hours of talks between the president and Netanyahu. Despite the lack of personal warmth between the two leaders, it was the 10th time the pair have met face-to-face since both took office in early 2008. No other world leader has clocked up as many meetings with Obama.
Some US and Israeli officials said the trip was partly aimed at recalibrating the tetchy relationship between the two leaders at the start of their second terms, and building trust on both sides.
The White House has said it was also a "chance to connect with the Israeli people". A poll published last week in the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv found that only 10% of Israelis had a favourable attitude towards Obama. Seventeen percent defined their attitude towards the US president as "hateful".
As part of his overture, Obama will deliver his keynote speech of the visit to an invited audience of Israeli university students at the International Convention Centre in Jerusalem on Thursday.
He will also travel to Ramallah to meet Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and prime minister Salaam Fayyad. The seven-mile journey will be made by heliciopter, thus avoiding crossing the 24ft high concrete separation wall which snakes through Jerusalem, dividing it from much of the east of the city and the West Bank. However, the president will have a birds-eye view of the barrier and some of the 130-plus Jewish settlements that punctuate the West Bank landscape.
Obama's itinerary for his 50-hour visit includes visits to the Israel Museum to view the Dead Sea Scrolls, Israel's haunting Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, and the graves of Theodor Herzl, the father of Zionism, and assassinated Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.
He will make a second trip – again by helicopter - to the Palestinian territories on Friday to visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
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