Netanyahu, Trump to meet in White House next week: official

JERUSALEM, march 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House next week, U.S. officials and Israeli media said on Wednesday.

The visit will be held from march 25 to 26, local media reported.

Trump's press secretary said in a statement that "the President and the Prime Minister will discuss their countries' shared interests and actions in the Middle East during a working meeting on march 25."

The statement was made shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Israel on Wednesday afternoon and headed to Jerusalem for a one-on-one meeting with Netanyahu.

Netanyahu's visit to Washington plans to address the annual gathering of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

His frontrunner political rival and Israel's former Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz is also planned to be in Washington to deliver a speech at AIPAC's annual meeting but was not invited to meet Trump.

Earlier on Wednesday, Netanyahu said that the "relations with the U.S. have never been this strong."

Netanyahu is seeking to be re-elected for a fifth term in the April 9 elections.

On Feb. 28, Israel's Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit said he intends to indict Netanyahu on three separate corruption cases, pending a hearing that will be held after the elections.