SHUNEH, Jordan, (AFP) - Israels alleged atomic arsenal poses the real danger in the Middle East and not Irans nuclear programme, Arab League chief Amr Musa said on Sunday. The real danger as far as nuclear military programmes are concerned is posed by Israel and not Iran, Musa said during a panel discussion on the future of Middle East peacemaking at the World Economic Forum in Jordan. We dont see Iran as the main issue. The vast majority of Arabs does not see Iran as the main issue. Why should we engage with Iran and with Israel? However, we dont need another nuclear programme in the Middle East, the Arab League chief said. Jordanian Prime Minister Nader Dahabi, his Palestinian counterpart Salam Fayyad, Iraqi Vice-President Adel Abdel Mahdi and Russian special envoy to the Middle East Alexander Sultanov took part in the discussion on the shores of the Dead Sea. Israel itself is widely considered to be the Middle Easts sole nuclear-armed power but it has never confirmed or denied having an atomic arsenal and refuses to submit to international inspections. Israeli President Shimon Peres welcomed the prospect of a new US drive for a comprehensive Middle East peace settlement during a visit Sunday to Jordan. I think it is a very encouraging and timely proposition. Time has come to depose war, hatred and come to real business - how to assure the life, the safety and the future of our children, Peres told a session of the WEF on the shores of the Dead Sea. We were negotiating with them (the Palestinians) for quite a while. I think the gap was narrowed and I do believe it is a bridgeable gap. With... a little bit of fresh ideas, it can be bridged. Peres also called for direct peace talks with Syria. If (President Bashar) Assad wants peace why is he shy? We suggested many times direct talks and they think that the direct talk is a prize to Israel, it is not a prize... it is normal, Peres said. Meanwhile, Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the US on Sunday ahead of his maiden meeting with US President Barack Obama amid divisions over Middle East peacemaking and Irans nuclear ambitions. The hawkish premier, who wants a fresh approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, will unveil in the White House meeting on Monday (today) his long-awaited policy for regional peace focused on countering Iran, aides said. Contents are still secret but one Netanyahu aide told AFP that differences between Israel and the US are more on the outside. Disagreements have surfaced on several key issues since Netanyahus right-leaning government was sworn in at the end of March but the two leaders are likely to use the summit to reaffirm the strong ties between the close allies, aide Zalman Shoval said. They were planned to give a brief Press conference after their meeting which will precede intimate lunch together with their wives. One major cause of friction has been Netanyahus refusal thus far to publicly endorse the creation of a Palestinian state, a bedrock principle of US-backed peace efforts in the region. Obama himself admitted in March that Netanyahus election and hawkish coalition did not make peacemaking any easier and his administration has fired off several sharp public messages towards Israel. Netanyahu has assigned top priority to halting Irans nuclear bid. Obama, however, has pledged to act vigorously to end the decades-old Middle East conflict and sees its resolution as a key component in a comprehensive regional policy for resolving the crisis with the Islamic republic. Netanyahu is expected to irk his hosts and the Palestinians by telling Obama that Israel will keep building in existing settlements in the occupied West Bank, a key obstacle in the stuttering peace process. The tone of the Obama administration has raised fears in Israel that Washington may sacrifice the interests of its staunchest ally in its attempt to end the Iranian estrangement.