U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sitting alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, launched the beginning of direct talks between the two. At a morning press event held at the State Department, Clinton and U.S. President Barack Obama's Special Envoy to the Middle East, Senator George Mitchell, Clinton committed that the United States “will be an active and sustained partner” in the peace process. “But we cannot and we will not impose a solution. Only you can make the decisions necessary to reach an agreement and secure a peaceful future for the Israeli and Palestinian people,” she said, also thanking the leaders for coming to Washington, saying “I know the decision to sit at this table was not easy.” Netanyahu and Abbas pledged their seriousness to securing an agreement and overcoming decades of mutual hostility and suspicion. “This will not be easy,” Netanyahu said. “True peace, a lasting peace, will be achieved only with mutual and painful concessions from both sides.” “We do know how hard are the hurdles and obstacles we face during these negotiations — negotiations that within a year should result in an agreement that will bring peace,” Abbas said. Abbas called on Israel to end Jewish settlements in the West Bank and other areas that the Palestinians want to be part off their own state. Netanyahu insisted that any agreement must assure Israel's security.
