Obama ‘Hopeful, Cautiously Hopeful’ About Mideast Direct Talks

From Sunlen Miller

After a day of separate meetings in the Oval Office,  President Obama, Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, President Abbas of The Palestinian Authority, King Abdullah II of Jordan and President Mubarak of Egypt walked together in a line down the red carpet of the Grand Foyer hallway this evening.

President Obama declared that he is “hopeful, cautiously hopeful” that the outcome of tomorrow’s direct talks would lead to the goal of two states — Israel and Palestine — living side-by-side in peace and security. In advance of a dinner that the five men will also share with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Quartet Representative Tony Blair, the president conjured up the history of the moment.

“We are but five men,” Obama said in the East Room. “Our dinner this evening will be a small gathering around a single table. Yet when we come together we will not be alone. We will be joined by the generations of those who have gone before and those who will follow.”

“Do we have the wisdom and the courage to walk the path of peace?” Obama asked while looking at the four men seated next to the podium.

The president says that while each of the men hold a different title — President, Prime Minister, King — they are all bound by the one title they share: father.

“So we must ask ourselves what kind of world do we want to bequeath to our children and our grandchildren.”

Each leader was given a chance to speak. President Mubarak thanked President Obama for signaling that the U.S. will shepherd the negotiations seriously. King Abdullah of Jordan said that the parties need President Obama’s support “as a mediator, honest broker and partner.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed President Abbas directly many times during his remarks, turning to him from the podium when accentuating a point.

“President Abbas, you are my partner in peace,” Netanyahu said. “It is up to us to overcome the agonizing conflict between our peoples and to forge a new beginning. The Jewish people are not strangers in our homeland, the land of our forefathers. But we recognize that another people share this land with us. And I came here today to find a historic compromise that will enable both peoples to live in peace, security and dignity.”

Netanyahu said he did not come here to “win an argument” nor “play a blame game,” but rather he “came here to make peace.”

Noting yesterday’s killing of four Israelis in the West Bank as well as violence in the region today, Netanyahu said that he will “not let the terrorists block our path to peace,” and he called again for any peace to require security arrangements.

Netanyahu said there are “many reasons for skepticism” but that he has no doubt that peace is possible.

“President Abbas, we cannot erase the past, but it is within our power to change the future,” he said.

President Abbas said that he believes a peace deal is also possible within a year, but that he recognizes the “difficulties, challenges and obstacles” that lie ahead. He called on the Israelis to stop building settlements to create an environment of momentary peace and for Israel to release all Palestinian prisoners.

All five of the men shook hands, with President Obama, President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu huddled cordially in a small circle smiling and shaking hands.

Tomorrow direct peace negotiations will be relaunched at the State Department.

- Sunlen Miller