Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu landed in Washington on Sunday ahead of what is widely considered a critical first meeting with US President Barack Obama on Monday, that may go a long way toward setting the tone of US-Israel relations for years to come.
While Iran and the Palestinian track are expected to dominate the talks, diplomatic officials said that what was even more crucial to establish in this first meeting between the two new leaders was trust and confidence in one another.
The White House has cleared a considerable amount of Obama's Monday schedule for the talks, which will begin in the late morning, run through lunch and continue on into the afternoon.
Senior Obama administration officials said on Saturday that the pair had already established a good personal working relationship, but they also related to differences in the two leaders' outlooks.
Netanyahu has refused to specifically endorse the vision of a "two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His Likud ministerial colleague Yisrael Katz said on Saturday night that the prime minister would push for a joint American-Israeli partnership to launch a fresh "diplomatic initiative for the Middle East" in place of the Arab League initiative and previous negotiating tracks.
Katz also said Netanyahu would not be bound to the kind of "shelf" agreement on two states that former prime minister Ehud Olmert had sought to finalize with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Washington officials, by contrast, stressed on Saturday that Obama had been committed from day one of his presidency to pursuing comprehensive Middle East peace, which would include a secure Jewish state of Israel alongside an independent, viable Palestinian state.
Obama has also welcomed the Arab League initiative as constructive and indicated it could serve as a basis for progress.
Netanyahu's aides have spoken in recent days of the prime minister's support for "natural growth" in the West Bank settlements - another area of possible contention, with some reports suggesting Obama wants to see a settlement freeze.
The administration officials would not directly answer questions about Obama's stance on Saturday, beyond saying that all parties had responsibilities and obligations to give the US a chance to be successful. Israel, they said, had responsibilities on settlements and outposts, and the Palestinians had responsibilities on security and terrorism.
Tellingly, however, they referred reporters to US Vice President Joe Biden's address earlier this month to AIPAC's policy conference, at which he urged Israel "to work for a two-state solution... not build more settlements, dismantle existing outposts and allow Palestinians freedom of movement."
Jordan's King Abdullah gave Netanyahu much the same message when the two met in Amman on Thursday.
The Washington officials also said Obama saw an opportunity to energize the Israel-Syria and Israel-Lebanon tracks, and that this would certainly be discussed on Monday.
They noted that senior Obama officials have already made two trips to Syria, and there have been talks, too, with Syria's ambassador in Washington - the first such contacts since 2005.
Netanyahu is expected to huddle with top advisers throughout the day in advance of his meeting with the president. He is scheduled to arrive back in Israel on Wednesday, before Jerusalem Day celebrations begin.
He was accompanied on the flight by Israel's new Ambassador to the US Michael Oren and US Ambassador James Cunningham.
In addition to meeting Obama, Netanyahu is also scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, National Security Adviser Gen. (ret.) James Jones, and congressional leaders from both parties.
He is also expected to meet with Jewish organization leaders, as well as select members of the US media.
Obama's meeting with Netanyahu is just one of a series of meetings the US president will hold with key Mideast players before unveiling, probably some time in June, a US policy for the Middle East.
Obama will see Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on May 26, and Abbas on May 28.
He is also scheduled to fly to Egypt in early June and give a long-awaited speech dealing with the US's relations with the Muslim world.
This process of dialogue, the Washington officials said on Saturday, would produce a determination by the president as to the best way to move forward.
Netanyahu's spokesman, Mark Regev, said that the prime minister was "looking forward to the meetings in Washington, and building a close and collaborative relationship with President Obama and his team."
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said earlier this week that Obama was looking forward to "welcoming key partners in the effort to achieve a comprehensive peace in the Middle East."
He said Obama would discuss ways with Netanyahu, Mubarak and Abbas to "strengthen and deepen our partnerships, as well as the steps all parties should take to help achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians and between Israel and the Arab states."
Gibbs's emphasis on a comprehensive approach was not coincidental, and reflected one of two pillars of the new administration's policy: a wider regional component, as well as a two-state solution.
Both US and Israeli officials have said in recent days that even though Netanyahu has not come out and backed a two-state solution, while administration officials are advocating for it constantly, it was expected that a formula could be found to bridge the gap between Obama's interest in seeing two full states, and Netanyahu's policy of a three-pronged approach to an agreement that would include political negotiations, enhanced economic development and security cooperation.
Sources close to Netanyahu have said the prime minister does not object to a Palestinians state somewhere down the line, as long as it does not include elements of statehood - such as the ability to muster an army or enter into treaties - that could eventually threaten Israel.
