Obama, Netanyahu, Abbas to hold joint meeting

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will hold a trilateral meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders next week, said the White House on Saturday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) poses with US Middle East special envoy George Mitchell upon his arrival for a meeting in Jerusalem on September 16, 2009. President Barack Obama will hold a three-way meeting with Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Tuesday, the White House said.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement that Obama would host the trilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, Sept. 22, which will be immediately preceded by bilateral meetings between President Obama and the two leaders.

"These meetings will continue the efforts of President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Special Envoy George Mitchell to lay the groundwork for the relaunch of negotiations, and to create a positive context for those negotiations so that they can succeed," said the statement.