Netanyahu invited to July 6 talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited back to the White House for an early July meeting with President Barack Obama.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said that the Israeli PM would look to reschedule a planned visit with the president on July 6, after Netanyahu was forced to cancel a meeting with Obama due to the flotilla incident in Israel.

"The president has offered the date of July 6 where the prime minister, Netanyahu, will be coming back to the White House for a rescheduled [visit],” Emanuel said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.

Netanyahu had planned to meet with Obama on June 2 and was in North America when a flotilla carrying supplies attempted to penetrate a military blockade of Gaza. The Israeli PM canceled his meeting with the president to return home to deal with the crisis.

The meeting earlier this month had been seen as an opportunity for Obama and Netanyahu to thaw what had been seen as a somewhat frosty relationship before then. The last White House meeting between the two featured no press availability -- unusual for a major visiting foreign leader -- and long-lasting meetings that carried on throughout the evening.

Emanuel sought to cast a picture of a close relationship between the U.S. and Israel.

“That will be the fifth visit by the prime minister to the White House, and to work on a series of issues that are from the peace process to the security of the State of Israel, to also dealing with other issues in and around the region," he said.

Emanuel said that Netanyahu was a leader who was able to balance Israel's need for its own sovereignty and the need for the long sought-after peace between Israelis and Palestinians.