Updated

A top aide to Israel's prime minister says Benjamin Netanyahu won't bend on his opposition to a settlement freeze when he meets with the Palestinian leader in New York.

Media adviser Nir Hefetz told Army Radio on Monday that Netanyahu sees the settlements "as a Zionist enterprise and sees the settlers ... as his brothers, our brothers, and acts accordingly."

Netanyahu is due to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and President Barack Obama in New York on Tuesday.

Abbas has refused to resume negotiations without an Israeli commitment to freeze construction in its West Bank settlements, a call echoed by the U.S. administration.

The meeting is going ahead despite Netanyahu's refusal to accept the demand.