Washington (CNN) -- Middle East peace talks will be the focus when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with President Obama on Tuesday, officials from both countries said.
Right now, Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas aren't talking directly. They are communicating only through U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell, who serves as a go-between for negotiations.
Netanyahu told Israeli Cabinet officials Sunday that he was ready to meet with Abbas at any time.
"Whoever desires peace will hold direct peace talks," he said. "I hope that this will be one of the results of my trip to Washington."
But Abbas has refused to meet with Netanyahu until Israel promises to stop building settlements.
The settlements are also a point of friction in Israel's relationship with the U.S.
Relations between Obama and Netanyahu reached a low point in March, when Israel announced plans during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden to construct more than a thousand new houses in East Jerusalem. The announcement outraged the Obama administration and led to the Palestinian withdrawal from agreed-upon indirect negotiations with Israel.
In a visit later that month to the United States, Netanyahu was presented with a set of concessions that the White House wanted to see Israel make in an effort to restart negotiations with the Palestinians.
Neither government detailed what the exact nature of the concessions were, but sources on both sides said a halt in East Jerusalem construction was among the demands from the Obama administration.
Since then, America has been applying intense pressure for progress in talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Aside from Israeli-Palestinian relations, many Israelis worry about what Iran is up to with its nuclear program. Netanyahu is expected to urge President Obama to keep the pressure on Tehran.
In a briefing last week, U.S. officials said the long-anticipated meeting would focus on how to move proximity talks to direct talks, and on the recent "liberalization" of Israel's policy on commercial traffic into Gaza.
The controversial embargo, which blocked the flow of goods from Gaza to Israel, turned deadly in May, when Israeli forces stormed a vessel that was part of a Gaza bound humanitarian flotilla. At least nine people were killed.
Dan Shapiro, National Securty Council Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said the situation had been "unsustainable," but officials added that the U.S. continues to be sensitive to Israel's security concerns over weapons being shipped into Gaza.
Tuesday's meeting will be the fifth meeting between Obama and Netanyahu since the prime minister took office last spring.
Moving toward direct talks was also a topic when Obama met with Abbas on June 9.
"We agreed that, should a progress be achieved, then we would move on to direct talks," Abbas said after the meeting.
