US President Barack Obama will next week welcome Israeli President Shimon Peres to the White House for lunch, at a time of intense upheaval in the rebellion-torn Middle East.
Obama plans to discuss US-Israeli security cooperation, the recent turbulent developments in the Middle East and stalled regional peace efforts at the meeting on April 5, the White House said.
Peres, who visited Switzerland and Britain this week, last met Obama in the White House in May 2009.
US-brokered peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians stalled in late 2010 after the expiry of a temporary freeze on settlement building in the West Bank.