- File photo : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) meets with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton September 15, 2010 in Jerusalem, Israel. Israeli and Palestinian leaders are deadlocked in peace negotiations over Israeli settlement building. (Photo by Amos Ben Gershom / GPO via Getty Images)
November 03, 2010 (KATAKAMI / HAARETZ) --- PM will arrive in New Orleans on Sunday to address a conference of the U.S. Jewish community, where Joe Biden will also speak.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he would meet Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a U.S. visit next week in addition to previously announced talks with Vice President Joe Biden.
In a speech to parliament, Netanyahu again voiced strong criticism of the Palestinian Authority, which has suspended peace talks over his refusal to resume a partial freeze of construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
"The truth is, there is great readiness in Israel for a real peace process," he said. "The truth is, we have not found a corresponding readiness within the Palestinian Authority."
Netanyahu has resisted U.S., Palestinian and international calls to impose a new building moratorium in settlements after a 10-month freeze expired in late September, some three weeks after the U.S.-brokered negotiations began.
Palestinian officials have accused Netanyahu of destroying prospects for peace by allowing settlement building to continue on land that Palestinians want for a future state.
Netanyahu arrives in New Orleans on Sunday to speak at a conference of U.S. Jewish leaders that Biden also will address. President Barack Obama will be visiting Asia during Netanyahu's U.S. trip, which also includes a four-day stay in New York.
"I will, of course, meet with the senior leaders of the United States, with Vice President Biden and subsequently with Hillary Clinton," Netanyahu told parliament.
He gave no date or venue for the meeting with Clinton, but Israeli officials said it was likely to take place in New York.
"I greatly appreciate the efforts of the Obama administration -- the president and his people -- to find a way to advance the peace process," Netanyahu said in his speech, giving no sign of bending in the settlement impasse.
(MS)
