Obama, Netanyahu meeting likely to highlight tensions

Barack Obama's speech on the Middle East may make for a tense Friday meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.The leaders meet during a week the White House has focused on the Middle EastPre-1967 borders of Israel should be starting point on a future Palestinian state, Obama saysNetanyahu: The basis for such borders would leave Israel "indefensible"

(CNN) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday at the White House in a session that could highlight tensions between the allies.

The leaders will meet a day after the president laid out his vision for the Middle East and North Africa in a speech at the State Department -- a message that was not enthusiastically received by the Israeli government.

In the speech, Obama said the pre-1967 borders of Israel should serve as the basis for negotiations in the formation of a future Palestinian state.

Those borders could be based on "mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states," the president said.

Before leaving for Washington, Netanyahu reacted coolly to the president's speech. He said the basis for such borders would leave Israel "indefensible" by putting major population centers beyond those borders.

The White House has been focused on Middle East issues this week, with Obama also meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday.

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