Peace Talks (Mideast Report‪)‬

Direct Peace Talks Resume amid Cautious Optimism Palestinian and Israeli leaders resumed U.S.-sponsored direct peace negotiations in Washington this week amid slim signs of any hope for any significant breakthrough in the decades' long conflict. U.S. President Barack Obama launched a new round of Mideast peacemaking on September 1, bringing Israeli and Palestinian leaders to the White House for talks aimed at forging a deal within a year on a twostate solution. The talks followed months of proximity (indirect) talks during which U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell shuttled between the parties. The Middle East peace process is central to Obama's agenda for fixing U.S. ties with the Arab and Muslim worlds. The September 2 meeting between Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came against the backdrop of major obstacles and conditions that make a peace accord as elusive as ever. Obama held separate talks with Netanyahu and Abbas beforehand and then hosted a dinner for both leaders, which was also attended by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II.