WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say President Barack Obama has made a “realistic assessment” that a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians is not possible during his final months in office.
The stark assessment comes ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House on Monday. Officials say the leaders will discuss steps to prevent a confrontation between the parties in the absence of a two-state solution.
A wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence broke out two months ago with clashes at a sensitive Jerusalem holy site that spread across Israel and into the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Obama and Netanyahu will be meeting face-to-face for the first time since the U.S. and its partners reached a nuclear accord with Iran. Netanyahu has been a chief critic of the deal.
