Bibi, Obama in previous meeting
Photo: Reuters
Netanyahu, Obama to meet soon
Effort to calm tensions: Postponed meeting between two leaders to be held this month
WASHINGTON – Meeting to go ahead: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be heading to Washington in the coming days for a meeting with US President Barack Obama in the White House.
The White House is expected to announce the date for the next meeting this week.
The meeting, which was scheduled to be held in Tuesday of this week, was cancelled because Netanyahu rushed back to Israel in the wake of the lethal raid on the Gaza-bound Marmara ship.
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Israel's ambassador in Washington, Michael Oren, was asked about the expected visit Saturday in an interview with the Bloomberg television channel and said the meeting will take place soon.
Unusual US move
In recent days, the US Administration had been engaged in intensive efforts to calm the tensions in the wake of the lethal raid and arrange for the transfer of goods to Gaza, without breaching the naval blockade imposed by Israel.
Earlier, the White House undertook an unusual move by directly addressing the passengers aboard the Rachel Corrie ship, which was heading to Gaza at the time. The Administration urged the activists on the ship to avoid a confrontation with IDF forces and turn away to the Ashdod Port.
Officials in the US State Department said that all sides were interested in averting a similar clash to the one that took place Monday. As result of US efforts, the Irish government also exerted pressure on the ship's crew, urging it to avoid a clash.
