FILE - In this July 6, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they walk to Netanyahu's car outside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. After a long and chilly four years, Barack Obama hopes to reset his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his first trip to Israel as president this spring. And it could be a step toward reopening a pathway toward peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, although Obama is carrying no big new Mideast peace plan(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Obama seeks to reset relationship with Netanyahu
FILE - In this July 6, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they walk to Netanyahu's car outside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. After a long and chilly four years, Barack Obama hopes to reset his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his first trip to Israel as president this spring. And it could be a step toward reopening a pathway toward peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, although Obama is carrying no big new Mideast peace plan(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
By JULIE PACE
AP White House Correspondent /
February 6, 2013
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Newly sworn in Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to visit Israel, the Palestinian territories and other countries in the region this month to lay the groundwork for Obama’s trip. Kerry also spoke with Netanyahu and Abbas over the weekend to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the peace process.
Beyond discussing Iran and the status of peace talks, Obama and Netanyahu are expected to discuss the violence in Syria and the political tumult in Egypt, the first Arab country to have a peace treaty with Israel.
Dan Shapiro, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, described Obama’s regional agenda in Israel as ‘‘very urgent.’’
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Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
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