U.S., Israel, PA Call for Peace Within the Year

The official launch of direct peace negotiations, involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, seemingly started off well, as many seemed hopeful that a peace agreement could be reached within the year.

Clinton reportedly stated that the very fact that the two Middle Eastern leaders came together at the negotiation table Thursday at all “was itself a step toward peace.”

According to Haaretz, Netanyahu warned that “we have to get from disagreement to agreement – a big task.” However, using a famous speech made at the Bar Ilan University at the beginning of his term, he referred to what he defines as the two pillars of peace: legitimacy and security. He explained that if these two pillars can be agreed upon, “outstanding issues” would be resolved.

During the talks, Netanyahu told Abbas that just as "you expect us to recognize a Palestinian state as the nation state of the Palestinian people, we expect you to recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people."

"Mutual recognition between us is indispensable to clarifying to our people that the conflict between us is over," he continued.

Netanyahu decided to lead by example communicating his understanding of Palestinian wishes: "I respect your people's desire for sovereignty and I'm convinced it’s possible to reconcile that desire with Israel's needs for security."

Clinton then explained that the agreement must be made between Israel and the Palestinian Authority alone, and that the U.S. could not force it. “We cannot and we will not impose a solution,” she reportedly stated.

She then placed the responsibility of attaining peace on the civilians of the two nations. "Only you can make the decision necessary to reach an agreement for the Israeli and Palestinian people," she said, adding that peace “will take patience, persistence and leadership,” according to Haaretz.

Addressing citizens of both regions directly, she continued by stating: “Your leaders are sitting at the negotiating table but you are the ones who will ultimately decide the future. You hold the future of your families, communities, people, this region… for this effort to succeed, we need your support and your patience."

Following Netanyahu’s speech, Abbas reiterated the conditions of peace for the Palestinian side, maintaining a call for the end of settlement development in the West Bank, a region Palestinians seek for their future sovereign state. "We call on the Israeli government to move forward with its commitment to end all settlement activities and completely lift the embargo over the Gaza Strip," Abbas stated in reports.

Abbas still maintained, however, that the possibility of peace could be achieved within the year.