US President meet Israeli Prime Minister in Washington.....

US President Barack Obama is to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington shortly amid sharp differences on the way forward for the Middle East peace process. President Obama has said a future Palestinian state must be based on the borders that existed prior to the 1967 war.

He said "mutually agreed swaps" would help create "a viable Palestine, and a secure Israel".

But Mr Netanyahu said the pre-1967 borders were "indefensible".

An estimated 300,000 Israelis live in settlements built in the West Bank, which lies outside those borders. The settlements are illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

In a keynote speech on Thursday on the future of US policy in the Middle East, President Obama said: "The United States believes that negotiations should result in two states, with permanent Palestinian borders with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, and permanent Israeli borders with Palestine.

"The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognised borders are established for both states."