Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak says Israel plans to hang on to two major settlements in the West Bank in any potential Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, local newspaper Haaretz reported Tuesday.

Speaking with Army radio on Monday, Barak said that Israel planned to annex both Ofra and Bet El, two communities with a combined population of some 9,000 residents, "on any map anyone thinks will be part of a permanent arrangement."

In response, chief Palestinian National Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat told the Haaretz daily that such a stance would spell an end to a two-state solution between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Barak's remarks are a shift from previous statements since he held the premiership in 2000 and called for handing over the majority of the West Bank to the Palestinians in return for a peace agreement.

"I think there are things that must be done to strengthen Beit El. It's a very important community, Beit El. I have no doubt about the future of Beit El," he said in the interview, but added that he does not support proposed legislation to legalize disputed settlement outposts and neighborhoods, including Bet El's Ulpana neighborhood.

The defense minister left for the United States on Tuesday, where he will meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and other senior administration officials, his office said in a statement sent to Xinhua.

The meetings are expected to center on Iran, and upcoming talks between Western nation in the P5+1 group and Iranian representatives to curb Teheran's nuclear fuel enrichment program.

As well, the meetings will cover the Obama administration's recent granting Israel 680 million USD that would be used to purchase several Iron Dome anti-missile interceptor systems, in order to beef up the four existing batteries. Since its deployment last year, the system has successfully downed about 100 rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza at Israeli cities and towns.

After a meeting at the Pentagon on Thursday, Barak and Panetta are to hold a press conference where they will officially announce the agreement, according to The Jerusalem Post.