Israel's prime minister is flying to Washington DC for talks with the US president as the two leaders look to downplay reported tensions between the allies over Israeli plans to build housing settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.
During March's trip to US, Netanyahu was denied some privileges normally granted to visitors.
Barack Obama will host Binyamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, with discussions expected to focus the deadly raid on an aid flotilla, the blockade of Gaza, talks with the Palestinians, Israeli settlements and Iran.
The last time the two men met, Netanyahu was reportedly denied the privileges normally granted to visiting foreign dignataries, including the ritual hand-shake photograph.
But this meeting is likely to be a warmer affair than in March, with news coverage and a White House lunch planned for after the talks.
Dan Shapiro, a White House adviser, said that discussions in Washington will focus on "the progress that's been made so far in the proximity talks and the opportunity to make the transition into direct talks".
'Ready to meet'
Netanyahu is widely expected to tell Obama that he wants direct talks with the Palestinian Leadership over the stalled peace process.
"I am ready to meet [Palestinian] President [Mahmoud] Abbas today and tomorrow and the next day at any place," he said last week.
Direct negotiations have been frozen since December 2008, when Israel launched a 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip that killed more than 1,300 Palestinians.
With mid-term elections scheduled in the US for November, Obama and other politicians are keen to appear cozy with Israeli leaders, as Democrats draw significant support from pro-Israeli forces in American domestic politics.
Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister and Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister, met on Monday where they discussed "continuation of security co-ordination and economic co-ordination".
Both sides, however, said that the talks were separate from any direct or indirect negotiations on the preace process.
The March visit was soured by Israel's announcement of plans for 1,600 new housing units in occupied East Jerusalem during a visit by Joe Biden, the US vice-president, a move Washington called "insulting".
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SOURCE: Aljazeera
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