Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he will deliver a major address on his diplomatic policy next week, as the United States heaps up its pressure on the Jewish state over the Mideast peace process.

"Next week, I will make a major diplomatic speech, in which I will present the citizens of Israel with our principles for achieving peace and security," Netanyahu told Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting.

Netanyahu highlighted his aspiration for "a stable peace that rests on a solid foundation of security for the State of Israel and its citizens," according to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office.

The prime minister stressed that "we want to achieve peace with the Palestinians and with the countries of the Arab world, while attempting to reach maximum understanding with the US and our friends around the world."

The upcoming policy speech was planned as the Jewish state faces mounting pressure from the international community, including its closest ally the United States, over the stalemated peace process with the Palestinians, with the settlement issue in particular.

In a landmark soothing address to the Muslim world, US President Barack Obama said that his administration sees no legitimacy in Israel's settlement activity in the West Bank and called for a total freeze of settlement expansion.

Yet the Israeli government has so far refused to follow the call, and is trying to convince the Obama administration to accept unofficial understandings reached with the previous US government that Israel would retain certain major settlement blocsin any final-status deal with the Palestinians.

A "No" to Obama's call would apparently put the Jewish state at odds with the United States, while on the other hand, a "Yes" would threaten Netanyahu's ruling coalition with his right-wing partners, which traditionally hold hardline stances on the settlement issue.

"Ahead of the speech, I intend to listen to the opinions of the coalition partners and other elements among the Israeli public," said Netanyahu.

(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2009)