Idaho Sen. Jim Risch met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem today; here's a photo of the two before the meeting. Afterward, Risch praised Netanyahu, saying, “Prime Minister Netanyahu provided a very thoughtful and convincing framework for acceptable borders between a safe and secure Israel and a peaceful Palestine.  Both parties will need to agree on borders, among other final status issues, but Israel should not have to rewind history or sacrifice its security for a hollow agreement." He also praised Netanyahu's "vision of peace and economic development for the Jewish and Palestinian people," and said, "I remain convinced that if the political leaders in the Palestinian Authority and Hamas reject violence and accept Israel’s right to exist as the national homeland of the Jewish people, the Palestinian people could prosper and see a dramatic improvement in their quality of life.”

Risch is in Israel with Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn., as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee that oversees U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa. The two senators also are scheduled to meet with the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority and the head of Israel's opposition party, and to receive briefings on border, security and trade issues.