Rubio: Obama sent operatives to Israel to defeat Netanyahu

Some of President Obama’s top political operatives were sent to Israel leading up to last week’s elections in an attempt to defeat Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Tuesday.

{mosads}”He can’t say he has a businesslike relationship or that it isn’t personal, when his entire political machine, virtually, some of the top people in his political operation, were in Israel on the ground trying to defeat Netanyahu, which is unprecedented,” Rubio said of Obama on Tuesday in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.

“He didn’t send anyone in any other country to try to influence the outcome of those elections,” Rubio, a potential 2016 contender, added.

Obama attempted to play down the friction with Netanyahu earlier in the day Tuesday, saying their differences weren’t personal but over substantive policy issues. He described their relationship as “very businesslike.”

“[W]hat he’s saying is absurd in terms of it not being personal. That sounds pretty personal to me,” Rubio said.

Netanyahu decisively won reelection last week, though an already tense relationship with the White House has apparently escalated in recent days, with Obama indicating he won’t brush off pre-election remarks from Netanyahu that suggested the Israeli leader wouldn’t allow a Palestinian state to be established under his watch.

While Rubio agreed a two-state solution was ideal, “it’s also the least likely,” he told Hewitt.

“You don’t have the conditions today for that to happen. You have a Palestinian Authority that has no interest at this point. Certainly Hamas has none, but the Palestinian Authority has no interest at this moment on being a serious partner for peace,” Rubio said.

Read more from The Hill:

Netanyahu pollster: Obama role in election larger than reported