Israel and the Palestinians will relaunch direct negotiations in Washington on Thurday at talks hosted by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the state department.
US President Barack Obama, appearing the evening before with the Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders, vowed to do everything within his power to achieve a comprehensive agreement. "We are but five men," Obama said. "But when we come together, we will not be alone. We will be joined by the generations of those who have gone before." Obama spoke of Israeli prime ministers Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Rabin, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Jordan's King Hussein, pledging that he and the other leaders owed it to those men to work diligently to fulfill their aspirations.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, declared that terrorists would not block the path to peace. Turning toward Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, Netanyahu called him his "partner in peace." He said he came to find a "historic compromise" but warned that any deal must ensured Israel's security.
In his remarks, Abbas said the time had come to make peace. He promised to push hard, despite the difficulties, and reiterated his call on Israel to freeze settlement activity. Abbas also condemned Tuesday's attack by Hamas which killed four Israeli and yesterday's strike in which two more were injured. We do not want at all that any blood be shed, Israeli or Palestinian, Abbas said.
Earlier in the day, Obama held separate talks with Abbas and Netanyahu. In remarks after his meeting with Netanyahu, Obama condemned what he called the "senseless slaughter" of four Israelis in a shooting attack Tuesday near Kiryat Arba. He vowed that extremists and rejectionists would not derail the peace process.
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