WASHINGTON - American Airlines security personnel lost the luggage of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bodyguards as they traveled to Washington from John F. Kennedy airport in New York, according to NBC network reports on Wednesday night.

The lost luggage was eventually located in Los Angeles, but four Glock pistols had disappeared. Local police believe they had been stolen. The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment.

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The case containing the pistols was to have gone to Washington where Israeli guards had been sent to guard the prime minister's entourage during his visit to the White House. The airport authorities in New York said police were investigating whether the pistols had been stolen there or in Los Angeles.

A source at the airport said the luggage had been screened by security personnel and cleared for flight. A spokesman for American Airlines said in matters linked to security, they allow law enforcement agencies to deal with the case and don't intervene.

The Shin Bet confirmed the report and said the case is being investigated by Israeli security and local authorities in the US.

Netanyahu met US President Barack Obama in Washington Wednesday and discussed progress in direct talks with the Palestinians. Following the meeting, political sources said they believed direct negotiations would be renewed within a few weeks.

The issue of continuing the settlement construction freeze in the West Bank and east Jerusalem was also broached, but Netanyahu and Obama refrained from mentioning it in the press brief.

During the leaders' meeting, their wives Michele Obama and Sara Netanyahu met in an adjoining room. They talked about the World Cup and the First Lady showed her knowledge about Netanyahu's children.