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JERUSALEM, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Monday his commitment to work with U.S. President Donald Trump to achieve peace with the Palestinians.
"Israel is committed to working with President Trump to advance peace with the Palestinians and with all our neighbors," Netanyahu said in a video address to the annual policy conference in Washington of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the largest Israeli lobby group in the U.S.
Referring to the Islamic State, he said that the "common dangers faced by Israel and many of our Arab neighbors now offer a rare opportunity to build bridges towards a better future."
Netanyahu hailed Trump for his "strong support" for Israel, citing their "exceptionally warm meeting" last month in Washington and the continuing billion-dollar U.S. military support.
Last week, Israeli and U.S. teams, headed by President Donald Trump's special representative Jason Greenblatt, held a round of talks in the White House in an effort to reach an agreement over curbing the Israeli construction in the settlements in the West Bank.
The talks were concluded on Thursday without a deal. However, on Sunday Netanyahu said the talks continue and he hopes "they will conclude quickly."
Netanyahu has been under heavy pressures by his right-wing coalition partners to keep the expansion of the settlements.
The Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank are seen by most of the international community as an obstacle to peace as they are constructed on lands that Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state.
The last round of talks between Israel and the Palestinians reached an impasse in April 2014, mainly due to the expansion of the settlements.
