Updated on
Summary
US President Barack Obama urges Israeli and Palestinian leaders that they shouldnt let the chance of a permanent peace deal slip away. He says this moment of opportunity may not soon come again and pledges US support for the new negotiations.Obama spoke because a day later a new round of direct talks between Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is due to begin.He spoke at the White House on Wednesday evening after meetings with Israeli PM Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.Obama said the goal of the talks, which are expected to last a year, was a permanent settlement that ended the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and resulted in an independent, democratic Palestinian state existing peacefully beside Israel.US President said the US could not impose peace on the two parties, and that the US could not want peace more than them. He praised Mahmoud Abbas and Netanyahu as leaders who he believes want peace.
