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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Obama to Highlight Commercial Sector's Fuel-Efficient Fleets

Reuters

WASHINGTON -- With one eye on the gas pump and the other on his energy agenda, President Barack Obama is showcasing fuel-efficient vehicles as part of his goal to reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil.

The president was to make a short trip Friday to Landover, Md., to visit a UPS shipping facility that features fuel-saving vehicles. Obama was to launch a public-private partnership designed to help large commercial fleets cut back on their diesel and gasoline use.

Besides UPS vehicles, Obama also was to view examples of fuel efficiency in the fleets of AT&T, PepsiCo and Verizon.

The stop represents Obama's second energy-related event of the week, an effort by the White House to respond to rising gasoline prices by placing a focus on Obama's long-term energy strategies.

On Wednesday, the president called for a one-third reduction in U.S. oil imports by 2025. His energy proposals include boosting domestic oil production, increasing the use of natural gas and alternative fuels and making cars and trucks more efficient.

According to the Energy Department, more than 3 million commercial vehicles used American roads in 2009, guzzling nearly 4 billion gallons of fuel.

UPS, FedEx, PepsiCo, AT&T and Verizon are charter members of the public-private partnership. They are five of the 10 largest commercial fleets operating in the United States.

The five companies have made a commitment to use 20,000 fuel-efficient vehicles with an estimated fuel savings of 7 million gallons of diesel or gasoline a year. The White House says that together the companies operate more than 275,000 vehicles.

The Obama administration is encouraging large companies to use more efficient vehicles and to upgrade their fleets with vehicles that use electricity, natural gas or other alternative fuels. The partnership gives companies the opportunity to undertake group purchasing and to collaborate with the Energy Department for technical assistance.

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