US Middle East envoy George Mitchell gave Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Sunday a formal invitation to meet with President Barack Obama in Washington, a spokesman for the Israeli premier said, dpa reported.
The invite, handed over when Mitchell met Netanyahu in Jerusalem, comes as the US and Israel are embroiled in a row over new Israeli construction in an East Jerusalem neighbourhood built on West Bank land.
The Obama Administration is demanding that Israel freeze all construction in East Jerusalem and in West Bank settlements, something Netanyahu refuses to do.
Netanyahu was scheduled to leave for Washington Sunday night, to address the conference of the pro-Israel lobby, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and will likely meet the president on Tuesday.