Obama and Netanyahu to Discuss Iran, Palestinian Statehood at Summit Meeting

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in their first summit meeting, will seek common ground on two critical issues facing the Middle East -- Palestinian statehood and Iran's nuclear program -- officials from both countries said.

Achieving a consensus on statehood could prove challenging, however, as Netanyahu hasn't formally backed Obama's call for the creation of an independent Palestinian state to help end the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Israeli government also has resisted U.S. demands that it freeze all settlement activity in Palestinian areas.

The potential threat posed by Iran's expanding nuclear program could dominate the discussions, to be held at the White House on Monday, the officials said. Netanyahu wants assurances that U.S. diplomatic outreach toward Tehran won't be open-ended and would be followed by sanctions if unsuccessful in guarding against Iran developing nuclear weapons, Israeli officials said.

Obama is expected to argue that working toward a Palestinian state is the only way to win Arab states' support for efforts to contain Tehran.

"Part of what we're trying to do here is to create the context to move forward on regional peace," said a U.S. official.

Monday's meeting could provide a test of the two leaders' political and diplomatic skills, said Middle East analysts. Obama has sought to portray his foreign policies, especially those related to the Middle East and the Islamic world, as a sharp break from those of the Bush administration. He has pledged to work from "day one" to forge a Palestinian state and a broader Arab-Israeli peace agreement. But he will need the cooperation of a conservative Israeli leader whose supporters remain skeptical about the prospect of swapping land for peace with the Palestinians or Arab states, such as Syria.

U.S. and Israeli officials said they don't expect any confrontation between Obama and Netanyahu at the summit. Netanyahu, who lost the Israeli premiership in the 1990s in part because of his clashes with the Clinton administration over the peace process, has made it clear his government intends to seek a close strategic relationship with the Obama administration.

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