**US President Barack Obama is due to meet Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House as Washington struggles to revive Middle East peace talks.**The talks come amid heightened tension between the Obama administration and Israeli and Palestinian leaders over Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Aides to Mr Netanyahu said the two leaders would also discuss Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Mr Netanyahu is in Washington to address a forum of Jewish leaders.
The Israeli prime minister’s meeting with Mr Obama on Monday was announced only after he had arrived in the US.
The White House had previously declined to confirm the meeting, but Israeli officials denied that the absence of an invitation would be a snub to Mr Netanyahu.
US setbacks
Mr Obama’s administration has made Israeli-Palestinian peace talks the cornerstone of its Middle East policy.
However, its peace efforts have recently suffered two setbacks.
The Palestinians say a settlement freeze in the occupied West Bank is a precondition for a renewal of talks, and Washington has been backing their stance.
But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton angered Arab leaders last week when she praised Mr Netanyahu’s offer of a limited easing of settlement building as “unprecedented”.
The second blow came when moderate Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced he would not seek re-election because of the impasse in peace negotiations.
He accused the US of backtracking by refusing to persuade Israel to freeze Jewish settlement building.
Mr Obama was originally scheduled to address the Jewish Federations of North America’s annual General Assembly, which Mr Netanyahu is attending.
But he pulled out to attend a memorial service at Fort Hood military base following the massacre there. His chief of staff Rahm Emanuel will address the meeting instead.