President Obama will address the nation's largest pro-Israel lobby today and try to ease tensions raised by his controversial Middle East speech earlier this week.
As a flash of violence erupted again along the Gaza Border, Obama will appear at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington - and speak to thousands of activists who have been asked not to boo him.
Speaking to the gathering for the first time as President, Obama is expected to emphasize the United States' support for Israel and stress that the countries' shared interests far outweigh their differences.
The speech comes just days after Obama had a tense face-to-face meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House.
Netanyahu rejected Obama's recent call for Israel to withdraw to the borders that existed before it seized the West Bank and Gaza during the 1967 Six-Day War.
"Before 1967, Israel was all of 9 miles wide," Netanyahu said. "These were not the boundaries of peace. These were the boundaries of repeated wars."
But Netanyahu, while standing firm on Israel's borders, yesterday said reports of his disagreement with Obama "have been blown way out of proportion."
"It's true we have some differences of opinion, but these are among friends," Netanyahu told The Associated Press.
Israel's defense minister also said the meeting was "not as dramatic as it appeared."
"I think the Americans know well the nuances of our positions," said Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
"I don't think that the President said it was necessary to return to the 1967 lines, but rather that we need to start the discussion based on the 1967 borders," Barak said. "I don't think that the President's speech was such a bad thing."
Obama's appearance will come against a backdrop of recent acts of bloodshed in the disputed Gaza territory.
Israeli troops shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian yesterday as he approached the Gaza Strip's border fence, army officials said.
The shooting took place just a day after the Israeli army opened fire and wounded two other Palestinians near a different section of the border.
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