Israel’s Netanyahu postpones meeting with Obama’s Mideast envoy

Israeli prime minister postpones Mitchell meeting

ROME — A meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama’s special Middle East peace envoy, former Sen. George Mitchell, has been postponed.

The meeting was scheduled to take place Thursday in Paris and was one of the highlights of the conservative prime minister’s first European visit since being elected.

But Israeli officials accompanying Netanyahu during Tuesday’s stop in Rome said that Defense Minister Ehud Barak will instead travel to Washington next week to hold talks with Mitchell.

In a statement read out to reporters, the prime minister’s office said the Netanyahu-Mitchell meeting was being postponed until after the talks with Barak in order to “clarify issues.”