Israeli Official: Washington Does Not Understand

WASHINGTON — A senior Israeli official says President Barack Obama demonstrated in his latest Mideast policy speech that "Washington does not understand what we face."

The official says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was disappointed the speech did not address the Palestinian demand to repatriate to Israel millions of Palestinians, most descendants of people who were driven from or fled homes in the war over the Jewish state's 1948 creation.

Speaking Friday ahead of Netanyahu's White House meeting with Obama, the official said, "There is a sense that Washington does not understand the reality, that Washington does not understand what we face."

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on U.S. policy.

Netanyahu arrived in Washington early Friday.