Obama, by contrast, addressed Muslim countries in his inaugural speech Jan. 20, calling for “a new way forward based on mutual interest and mutual respect.” He gave his first interview as president to Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television and pledged to “start now” on Palestinian-Israeli peace efforts.

Netanyahu, 59, has said he wants to continue talks with the Palestinians, though he would shift the focus to “creating infrastructure for a political settlement,” helping rebuild the West Bank economy and demanding an end to violence. Netanyahu says he won’t remove any Jewish settlements from the West Bank, a key Palestinian demand.

Netanyahu -- popularly known by his nickname, Bibi -- was born in Tel Aviv and attended high school in suburban Philadelphia where his father, a historian, went to teach. After serving in the Israeli army as a commando, Netanyahu returned to the U.S. to study management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.