(Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads on Tuesday to Europe, where he will urge tougher moves against Iran's nuclear program and face opposition to his refusal to halt Jewish settlement expansion.
The trip to Rome and Paris follows Netanyahu's conditional endorsement, under U.S. pressure, of the internationally-backed goal of Palestinian statehood, a change of direction that Palestinians said fell short of their independence aspirations.
Israeli officials said Netanyahu planned to focus on what Israel sees as an Iranian quest for nuclear weapons in his talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday.
"Words alone will not solve the problem, and actions are necessary," one of the officials said, giving a preview of what Netanyahu intends to tell the two leaders.
