U.S. President Barack Obama will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at a meeting meant to lay the groundwork for renewed Middle East peace talks.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the three-way meeting Tuesday will take place after Obama meets separately with each of the two leaders.

The meetings will be held in New York, in conjunction with a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.

Getting Middle East peace talks back on track has been a goal of the Obama administration, but it has been a tough struggle, with Isaeli settlement expansion a key issue.

Israel is resisting U.S. pressure to freeze construction of settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

The Palestinians are not satisfied with Israel's offer of a temporary halt on some construction, during which time building on some 3,000 housing units will continue. The Palestinians say it compromises the territory of any future Palestinian state.

The U.S. government is known to support the Palestinian demand, but failure to make any headway on peace talks could become an embarrassment for Obama.