With international attention fixed squarely on Ukraine, a high-profile meeting of world leaders about conflict in another part of the globe went largely unnoticed Monday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent about three hours at the White House, speaking with President Obama about a potential peace deal between Israel and Palestine. (Via C-SPAN)
It's a two-state solution the Obama administration has pushed for years, but Netanyahu has shown resistance to the plan, saying he won't give in to pressure from Washington to accept just any deal. (Via The White House / Pete Souza)
OBAMA: "It's still possible to create two states ... but it's difficult, and it requires compromise on all sides."
NETANYAHU: "Israel has been doing its part, and I regret to say that the Palestinians haven't." (Via PBS)
Netanyahu's argument is that Palestinians have continually provoked Israel through rocket attacks. But Israel's government has agreed to give up at least some ground in this latest peace process.
Late last December, the nation released 26 Palestinian prisoners. That was an early step in getting Israel and Palestine to sit down and talk — something U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry finally accomplished last year. He hopes to have an interim peace deal signed by April. (Via BBC, Euronews)
For Palestine, one of the biggest obstacles in the talks is construction of Israeli housing in the disputed West Bank. Monday, Israel said it built more than twice as many units there in 2013 than it did the year before. (Via Al Jazeera)
Despite his hesitation surrounding a peace deal, Netanyahu says the U.S.-Israel relationship remains strong. Monday he described it as "stirred but not shaken."
