Obama to host Israeli PM in March

U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in March to discuss peace talks with the Palestinians and Iran's nuclear program, the White House said on Wednesday. "The president looks forward to discussing with the prime minister progress in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, developments in Iran and other regional priorities," spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement. He described the upcoming visit as "a demonstration of the deep and enduring bonds between the United States and Israel, and our close consultations on a range of security issues." Obama is scheduled to meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan on Friday at Annenberg Estate in the U.S. state of California, with focus on the Mideast peace process and the Syrian conflict. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who helped relaunch direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians in late July 2013, is seeking a framework agreement to keep alive the talks beyond April, when the two sides are expected to have reached an agreement on all final-status issues. However, the talks have been stalled over disagreements over settlement building, security arrangements and Netanyahu's insistence on Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.