JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he will fly to the United States next weekend for talks on Middle East peace efforts and to speak of the need to combat international terrorism.
“Next Sunday, I shall leave for the annual assembly of Jewish communities in the United States,” Netanyahu told reporters at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, referring to a congress to be held in New Orleans on November 7-9.
“I shall meet there with Vice President (Joe) Biden and other senior administration officials and I shall discuss with them a range of issues, including, of course, a renewal of the peace process with the aim of reaching an agreement on peace with security for the state of Israel,” he said.
Israel and the Palestinians resumed direct peace negotiations on September 2, after a 20-month hiatus. But within weeks the talks ran aground following the expiry of a 10-month Israeli moratorium on the building of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu has steadfastly refused to reimpose the ban, while Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has declined to talk while Israel builds on land he wants for a future state, prompting intense US efforts to resolve the deadlock.
