Ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington next week, the US has said it encourages both Israel and Palestinians to reach a common understanding for initiating direct negotiations to resolve the Middle East conflict. State Department spokesman P J Crowley told reporters that the US continue to encourage both the Israelis and Palestinians to demonstrate that they are ready to take the step from the proximity talks to direct negotiations. He said, American role is to try to help for direct negotiations by mutual understandings. Crowley said that there are still different expectations on both sides of what they feel and they need to be able to take that step. Separately, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said US President Barack Obama is looking forward to hosting the Israeli Prime Minister, who had to cancel a meeting last time. Netanyahu is expected to meet Obama on July 6 at the White House. In response to a question, Gibbs said as of now, Obama has no plan to visit Israel.