Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he feared Middle East peace talks could be delayed for another year unless Palestinians dropped their demand for a full settlement freeze.
"We must not be trapped by an illogical and unreasonable demand," Netanyahu told US Congressional leaders during a Washington visit, according to his spokesman. "It could put the peace negotiations on hold for another year."
Netanyahu made his comments at a meeting on Capitol Hill with leading Democrats and Republicans several hours before he was due to hold low-profile White House talks with Obama.
Israeli officials dismissed Palestinian concerns over Israeli settlement in and near east Jerusalem. They said even Palestinians understood that apartment blocs Israel erected for Jews across occupied areas of the city could not be dismantled in any future peace deal.
'One voice'
Netanyahu received a warmer public reception from Congress than from the Obama administration, with a top Democrat and Republican joining Tuesday to welcome him.
"We in Congress stand by Israel," the leader of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, assured Netanyahu at an all-smiles appearance before the cameras. "In Congress we speak with one voice on the subject of Israel."
"We have no stronger ally anywhere in the world than Israel," said House Republican Leader John Boehner. "We all know we're in a difficult moment. I'm glad the prime minister is here so we can have an open dialogue."
'We face 2 great challenges'
Pelosi and Boehner both pointed to the threat from Iran as a top concern, and an area in which the United States will cooperate with Israel.
Netanyahu thanked his congressional hosts for what he called warm, bipartisan support. He also spoke, among others, with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Foreign Relations chairman John Kerry, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Howard Berman, a Democrat, Sen. Daniel Inouye, a Democrat, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent.
"We face two great challenges", Netanyahu said, a "quest for peace with our Palestinian neighbors" and stopping Iran from developing atomic weapons.
