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Israel's Netanyahu Will Meet Trump and Clinton on Sunday

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has avoided choosing sides in the presidential election, but the Sunday meetings may help him decide.
Image: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers remarks at the Hudson Institute's Herman Kahn Award Ceremony at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers remarks at the Hudson Institute's Herman Kahn Award Ceremony at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 22, 2016.ANDREW KELLY / Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to meet with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in New York on Sunday, officials involved in planning the meetings told NBC News.

Netanyahu, in town for the United Nations General Assembly, has had a tense relationship with President Barack Obama, and was accused of siding with Obama's opponent, Mitt Romney, in the 2012 presidential campaign. This time around, Netanyahu has appeared wary of appearing to take sides.

But he has reason to press the candidates on issues critical to Israel in the final weeks of the campaign. His country has not been a major campaign subject, and neither Clinton nor Trump plan to visit Israel before Election Day.

Clinton, the candidate Netanyahu knows best, supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As a former first lady, senator and Obama's secretary of state, she has a long history of working with Israeli leaders and has said that one of the first things she'd do if she won would be to invite the Israeli prime minister to the White House.

Trump is more of a wild card. He has said he would remain "neutral" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to help the two sides negotiate a deal. But in March he told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee the Palestinians "must come to the table knowing that the bond between the United States and Israel is absolutely, totally unbreakable." But he has also said Israel should continue building settlements in the West Bank.

Trump considered visiting Israel last year, but canceled the trip after Netanyahu criticized his call for a ban on Muslim immigrants. Trump has also been accused of failing to disassociate himself with anti-Semitic supporters.