Working toward a two-state solutionSTORY HIGHLIGHTS- Israelis and Palestinians relaunch talks that have been stalled for a year and a half
- Hillary Clinton says U.S. will facilitate negotiations but cannot impose a settlement
- Israeli prime minister calls Palestinian leader "a partner for peace"
- Obama hosts dinner at the White House on Wednesday
Washington (CNN) -- Direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians kicked off again Thursday with pledges of support from leaders on both sides -- as well as the United States -- for a peace process leading to a comprehensive settlement within one year.
A day after meeting with President Obama at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas struck a guardedly optimistic tone while sitting down with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department.
Key officials close to the negotiations have downplayed immediate expectations for the talks, which had been stalled for a year and a half. But simply resuming direct negotiations is a critical step, and reaching a comprehensive deal is one of Obama's top foreign policy goals, they noted.
Clinton, who sat at the middle of a U-shaped table flanked by Netanyahu, Abbas and other senior negotiators, told reporters the meeting was part of a move toward "a future of peace and dignity that only [Israelis and Palestinians] can create."
The United States "cannot and will not impose a solution," she said, though asserting that a two-state solution is the only viable resolution to the conflict.
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- Benjamin Netanyahu
- Mahmoud Abbas
- Middle East Conflict
- Barack Obama
The U.S. government will be an "active" partner in the renewed peace process, Clinton promised. It's in America's national security interest to find a solution, she said.
Clinton, whose husband tried but failed to reach a comprehensive deal in the final year of his administration, said that "we've been here before and know how difficult the road ahead" can be. Opponents of a deal will try "to sabotage this process," she warned.
For his part, Netanyahu said he sees in Abbas "a partner for peace."
The Israeli leader said that reaching a lasting peace will require "mutual and painful concessions from both sides." But Israel is prepared to go "a long way in a short time" to reach a deal, he said.
Abbas voiced his belief that the current negotiations "should, within a year, lead to an arrangement" for peace. Palestinian negotiators are prepared to "work on all the final status issues," he said.
Abbas used the occasion to, among other things, call on Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza.
Thursday's talks followed a working dinner Wednesday with Obama, Abbas, Netanyahu, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah II of Jordan.
"I am hopeful -- cautiously hopeful, but hopeful -- that we can achieve the goal that all four of these leaders articulated," Obama said Wednesday night.
Clinton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the representative for the so-called Middle East Quartet, also attended the dinner. The quartet consists of the United States, Russia, the United Nations and European Union.
While all the major players have struck an optimistic tone, key hurdles are confronting negotiators.
One immediate threat to the talks is the September 26 expiration of Israel's 10-month freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank. Palestinian leaders have indicated they may walk out of the talks if the freeze is not extended. Some members of Netanyahu's coalition government, on the other hands, have said they would leave the coalition if the freeze continues.
Another roadblock is the Palestinian view that any two-state solution must include a handover of all the land Israel captured in the 1967 war, along with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.
While Netanyahu has expressed openness about a Palestinian state, he also has strong opposition to a Palestinian takeover of East Jerusalem.
Hamas' control of Gaza also remains a "major problem," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said earlier this week.
Leaders of Hamas are frequently in conflict with the more moderate Abbas and his Fatah organization, which has the upper hand in the West Bank. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, speaking to reporters Thursday in Gaza, said Abbas has no political legitimacy and no right to represent the Palestinian people.
While Gaza is generally considered to be part of any future Palestinian state, Hamas has refused to recognize Israel's right to exist and is not a part of the talks. Zuhri said that "resistance operations" will continue against Israelis despite recent arrests of Hamas activists in the West Bank.
The Hamas pledge to continue attacks came after the Islamist group claimed responsibility for two shooting attacks on Israeli settlers in the past two days that left four people dead and two others wounded.
"We are under no illusions," Obama said this week. "Passions run deep. ... There's a reason that the two-state solution has eluded previous generations -- this is extraordinarily complex and extraordinarily difficult."
CNN's Ed Henry, Alan Silverleib, Hala Gorani and David Molko contributed to this report.