Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans
five-day visit to the U.S. in first week of March, will address AIPAC
conference in Washington • Habayit Hayehudi attacks Foreign Minister
Avigdor Lieberman: He is zigzagging himself to death.
U.S. President Barack Obama
and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in 2011
|
Photo credit: Avi Ohayon / GPO |
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to
make a five-day visit to the United States in the first week of March,
during which he will meet with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White
House and deliver a speech at the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee's annual conference in Washington.
According to the Prime Minister's Office, the
date of the meeting with Obama has yet to be set, but the details are
expected to be finalized in the coming days. Netanyahu and Obama last
met in September, when Netanyahu traveled to the U.S. for the U.N.
General Assembly meeting.
A Israeli political official said on Sunday
that "no surprises are expected," and that the meeting between Netanyahu
and Obama would focus on the Iran nuclear issue and the peace
negotiations with the Palestinians.
"The leaders will coordinate their positions during a private discussion," the official said.
Netanyahu is also expected to visit the West
Coast during his U.S. trip. He is scheduled to attend a screening in Los
Angeles of international tourism project "The Royal Tour," hosted by
travel news journalist Peter Greenberg. The prime minister also plans to
make a 12-hour visit to Silicon Valley.
On Sunday, Netanyahu held a meeting on
formulating a plan of action to deal with economic boycotts of Israel.
Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman and Strategic Affairs, Intelligence and International
Relations Minister Yuval Steinitz participated in the meeting.
An Israeli political official said that, as of
yet, there is no general boycott of Israel by any country and that
threats of boycotts thus far have been related to the potential future
failure of the ongoing peace talks with the Palestinians.
Lieberman and Bennett continued to lock horns
on Sunday, with Bennett writing on his Facebook page, "Our kids' future
is more important than compliments from our allies," referring to
Lieberman's recent strong show of support for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
Kerry "is a true friend of Israel and he is
leading the [peace] process correctly," Lieberman said on Friday at an
Industrial and Commercial Association event in Tel Aviv.
The Yisrael Beytenu leader went on to say that, "between territorial unity and national unity, I prefer national unity."
On Sunday, Lieberman told Army Radio that he
would be willing to leave his home in the Judean community of Nokdim as
part of a true peace agreement with the Palestinians. Yet, Lieberman
said his views on the peace process had not softened.
"There is no new Lieberman; I'm not conciliatory or moderate," he said.
A Habayit Hayehudi source close to Bennett
said on Sunday that Lieberman was "zigzagging himself to death. He is
veering to the left of [Hatnuah Chairwoman] Tzipi Livni."
"The way Lieberman is basking in the compliments coming from the U.S. is an embarrassment," a Habayit Hayehudi official said.
In the Army Radio interview, Lieberman said: "I have not
changed a word from what I've said in the past. For example, I wrote
about how the unity of the people is more important than the unity of
the land in my book in 2004. I am in favor of a [peace] agreement, which
I also said in 2009."
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