President Barack Obama has indicated to Jewish-American leaders that the United States and Israel are making progress in bridging their differences on the issue of Jewish settlements.
Mr Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have differed sharply on Israeli settlements on the occupied West Bank. The United States wants a complete halt to settlement construction, a demand that has opened the most serious rift in US-Israeli relations in a decade.
Israel has raised the possibility it might temporarily refrain from starting new building projects - while continuing many under way - in return for steps toward a regional peace agreement, including progress on Arab states normalising relations with Israel.
US envoy George Mitchell and Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak have conducted a series of talks on the issue.
Mr Obama, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and political adviser David Axelrod sat down with 16 Jewish-American leaders to discuss the Middle East and other issues.
One major obstacle has been Israel's insistence on allowing some "natural growth" of existing settlements.
A White House statement said the president "reiterated his unshakable commitment to Israel's security, and reiterated his commitment to working to achieve Middle East peace."
Reuters