JERUSALEM - ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be looking to build a coalition against Iran and exchange ideas on advancing Middle East peace negotiations when he visits Egypt Monday on his first trip to the Arab world since he took office.

Mr Netanyahu is hoping to find some common ground with his Arab neighbours ahead of his pivotal trip to Washington later this month. Efforts are also under way to arrange a trip to Jordan later in the week.

Egypt will be looking for the Israeli leader to endorse the internationally backed idea of a Palestinian state, something he has not done so far.

Mr Netanyahu's election has been ill-received in the Arab world because of his hard-line positions against yielding land captured in Middle East wars and his refusal to support Palestinian independence. Mr Netanyahu hopes to redefine the regional agenda by focusing on Iran as the key threat to Mideast stability.

Egypt, a regional heavyweight, and Jordan are the only Arab countries with peace treaties with Israel. Because they, too, fear Iran's rising influence in the region, Mr Netanyahu hopes to use them as bridgeheads for his ideas among moderate Arab states.

Both Israel and Arab moderates, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have expressed concern over President Barack Obama's efforts to start a dialogue with Iran.

Mr Netanyahu's decision to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak before sitting down with President Obama on May 18 demonstrates his belief that 'now is the time to intensify the coordination and the cooperation between Israel and those Arab countries (that) believe in peace', an official in the prime minister's office said Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the meeting in advance.

Israel, like the US and many other countries, believes Iran is aggressively pursuing a nuclear weapons program. The Jewish state regards the Islamic Republic as its greatest threat, especially in light of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's repeated calls for Israel's annihilation. Iran says its nuclear program is designed solely to produce energy.

While the US too is concerned about Iran's role in the region, it also is pressing hard for an Israeli commitment to establish a Palestinian state. -- AP