Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is moving quickly on legislation that would provide humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people and "limited lethal and non-lethal weapons to vetted Syrian groups."

“The Assad regime has crossed a red line that forces us to consider all options,” Menendez said. “The greatest humanitarian crisis in the world is unfolding in and around Syria, and the U.S. must play a role in tipping the scales toward opposition groups and working to build a free Syria.”

He insisted "there will be no greater strategic setback to Iran than to have the Assad regime collapse, and cause a disruption to the terror pipeline between Tehran and Hezbollah in Lebanon."

Here's his office's summary of his bill, which the full committee plans to begin considering next Tuesday:

President Obama is keeping up the bonhomie with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling a crowd at a Jerusalem convention center, that he knew in Israel "every word and gesture is carefully scrutinized.

"But just so you know," he added, "Any drama between me and my friend Bibi over the years was just a plot to create material for Eretz Nehederet."

Obama's crowd at the Jerusalem Convention Center -- more than 2,000 Israeli citizens -- were mostly students from Israeli universities and colleges that partner with the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. Twenty attendees were selected from more than 1,600 entries to the embassy's Facebook contest that asked participants to submit entries explaining why they should win a ticket.

The White House said civil society leaders, representatives of the Israeli government, and international media were also among the invitees.

Israeli police say Gaza militants have fired two rockets at southern Israel as President Obama prepares to visit the West Bank on the second day of his trip to the region.

Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says one rocket exploded in the courtyard of a house in the border town of Sderot, the Associated Press reported, causing damage but no injuries. Obama visited the city, which is frequently targeted by rocket attacks from the nearby Gaza Strip, as a presidential candidate in 2008.

Along the streets in the West Bank, protest posters that featured Obama's picture to call his attention to the lack of 3G access in the Palestinian terrorities have been defaced.

Obama said Wednesday night he didn't bring a peace plan to the Middle East with him, but is hoping to "listen" and find a way for the U.S. to help. The New York Times reported today that President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority -- whom Obama will meet with today -- is "so eager" for peace talks "that he may soften his demand that Israel's president publicly pledge to halt construction of new settlements on Palestinian land."

President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu worked Wednesday to cast off the perception that they don't have a wonderful relationship, joking with each other and at one point, shedding their jackets as they walked across the tarmac at the airport.

Netanyahu even tried a joke in his official welcoming remarks, alluding to Obama's disclosing a "fantasy" to an Israeli TV station that he'd be able to go incognito during his visit and escape to an Israeli cafe.

"Barack," Netanyahu said, using Obama's first name, as Obama did his, repeatedly, in the Israeli TV interview.

"If you do have a few minutes and you can arrange to slip away from your security, we picked out a few cafes and bars in Tel Aviv," Netanyahu joked. "We even prepared a fake mustache."

The jokes even extended to the red lines that both leaders have drawn over various conflicts, including Iran's nuclear program and Syria's ongoing civil war. Walking to tour the Iron Dome, anti-missile system, Obama joked that "Bibi" is "always talking to him" about red lines.

The show of bonhomie comes as Israel's U.S. Embassy unveiled a new video -- making fun of the press focus on the reportedly chilly relationship between Netanyahu and Obama. The music in the video: The Golden Girls theme song.

President Obama arrived in Israel Wednesday, pledging as he landed that the U.S. will remain an "eternal" ally of Israel, amid "winds of change" in the turbulent region.

His visit partly aimed at shoring up his standing among skeptical Israelis, Obama earned an early round of applause as he opened his remarks at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv with "shalom," and went on to say in Hebrew, "It's good to be back in the land of Israel."

Obama, whom the Israeli public views warily after he seemed in 2009 to suggest that Israel was created after the Holocaust, sought to hit the right notes: pointedly calling Israel the "historic homeland of the Jewish people." He called the U.S. Israel's "strongest ally and greatest friend" and noted the visit to Israel was his first stop on the first foreign trip of his second term, timing that he said was "no accident.

"Across this region the winds of change bring both promise and peril," he said. The visit, he said,  gives him an opportunity to "reaffirm the unbreakable bond" between the U.S. and Israel, restate the U.S.'s "unwayvering commitment to Israeli security," as well as talk to Israelis.

"We stand together because we share a common story of patriots determined to be a free people in our own land," he said. "We stand together because we are democracies."

And he pledged a lasting partnership, saying that the U.S. relationship with Israel is in both country's national security interest and makes the two countries stronger and "more prosperous.

"That is why I'm confident in declaring that our alliance is eternal, it is forever," Obama said, repeating the word in Hebrew, lanetzach. 

Netanyahu spoke briefly before Obama took the stage, saying he wanted to thank Obama and the U.S. for "standing with Israel" -- singling out Obama for "boldly defending" the Jewish right to a homeland before the United Nations.

The two will talk privately tonight -- and then hold a press conference. On the agenda: Iran's suspicious nuclear weapons program, Syria and the prospects of a resuming peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Air Force One touched down at 12:12 p.m. local time at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv -- a few minutes ahead of schedule -- and rolled slowly to the red carpet, where the Jerusalem Post reports more than 1,000 people assembled to greet President Obama.

Obama, who was accompanied on AF1 by Reps. Eliot Engel and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, emerged from the plane at 12:28 p.m. with a wave. He stepped briskly down the steps and greeted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and then Israeli President Shimon Peres, extending a handshake and a half hug.

All three are wearing blue ties -- nearly the color of Israel's flag. Flanked by the two, Obama stood solemnly on the red carpet as the U.S. and Israeli national anthems were played, putting his hand over his heart during the U.S. version.

He worked a long receiving line, shaking hands and and greeting members of Israel's religious communites and among others, new Cabinet member Yair Lapid.

Also part of the official greet party: Talya Lador-Fresher, MFA Chief of Protocol, Lt. Colonel Avraham, MOD Chief of Protocol, President Peres' aid-de-camp, Netanyahu's aid-de-camp and the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro.

Florida Democrat and Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Rep. Eliot Engel, D-NY, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, are aboard Air Force One with President Obama, heading to Israel.

Engel said he'll "participate in a series of high level meetings and consultations with U.S. and Israeli government officials during the visit" and will attend Obama's speech to university students in Jerusalem on Thursday, as well as the state dinner hosted by Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Engel called the visit -- Obama's first as president -- a "powerful reminder of the unbreakable bonds between our two nations.

"There is no more powerful message to send across the world, to friends and foes alike, than a U.S. President standing shoulder to shoulder with the Israeli people," said Engel, who tweeted, "I am honored to be joining @BarackObama & @DWStweets visiting #Israel - This trip is a powerful reminder of our nations' unbreakable bond."

It'll be tough for President Obama's motorcade to miss an effort launched by Israelis that seeks to prod the White House into releasing Jonathan Pollard, who is serving a life sentence in the U.S. for spying for Israel.

Signs urging Pollard's release are plastered around town, including one that shows a drawing of Obama and one of Pollard, with the words, "Yes You Can!" President Shimon Peres has said he'll personally ask for Pollard's release when he greets Obama Wednesday at the airport.

The White House is disinclined to let Pollard out of the sentence, with Obama telling Israeli TV last week that he has no plan "for releasing Jonathan Pollard immediately."  

On the eve of President Obama's first visit to Israel as president, a Jerusalem Post poll finds his numbers improved among Israelis, but that most of them are highly skeptical he can deliver on peace in the region.

Obama leaves tonight for the trip to Israel, with the White House downplaying expectations for any sweeping peace plan. Obama himself says he hopes to "connect with the Israeli people" and convince them the U.S. stands with Israel.

The Post poll of 500 Israelis found that 36 percent considered Obama administration's "more pro-Palestinian than pro-Israel, 26 percent said it was more pro-Israel than pro- Palestinian, and 26 percent called it neutral." The newspaper said the percentage of people who believed that Obama’s government leaned toward Israel was the highest in its polls in nearly four years.

Meanwhile, the Post reported that Palestinians in Bethelem set fire to pictures of Obama, saying he wasn't welcome in the city.

From the White House: "The President congratulates the Israeli people, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the new members of the Prime Minister's governing coalition on the successful formation of Israel's new government. 

"President Obama looks forward to working closely with the Prime Minister and the new government to address the many challenges we face and advance our shared interest in peace and security. The United States places a high value on its deep and enduring bonds with Israel and the Israeli people. The President looks forward to further strengthening those bonds when he travels to Israel next week to meet with Israeli officials and to speak directly with the Israeli people."