Trump invites Israel's Netanyahu to White House
Xinhua, November 10, 2016 Adjust font size:
United States' president-elect Donald Trump invited Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet him in Washington during a phone talk on Wednesday evening, Israeli officials said.
Netanyahu congratulated Trump on his victory. "The two leaders, who know each other for many years, had a warm and hearty conversation," according to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office.
The two also discussed "regional issues," the office said.
Trump invited Netanyahu for a meeting in the United States "at the first opportunity."
Earlier in the day, Netanyahu called Trump "a true friend of the State of Israel", and said he hopes to "continue to strengthen the unique alliance between our two countries and bring it to ever greater heights."
Naftali Bennet, a major member in Netanyahu's ultra-right coalition, said the winning of Trump means that the "era of a Palestinian state is over."
The Palestinians want to establish a state on lands that Israel occupied in 1967.
Netanyahu repeatedly said he is willing to negotiate a peace deal based on the two-state solution. However, he backtracked on compromises agreed by his predecessors while continuing with the expansion of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Endit