Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) shakes hands with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in front of US President Barack Obama in New York on September 22. Photo: JTA
WASHINGTON — Israel and the Palestinians must act “with a sense of urgency,” US President Barack Obama said after meeting with their leaders.
Obama met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in New York on Tuesday September 22 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Obama met separately with the leaders, then joined them in a trilateral meeting.
“We have to summon the will to break the deadlock that has trapped generations of Israelis and Palestinians in an endless cycle of conflict and suffering,” Obama said at a joint photo opportunity with Netanyahu and Abbas before their three-way meeting.
“We cannot continue the same pattern of taking tentative steps forward and then stepping back. Success depends on all sides acting with a sense of urgency.”
US officials failed last week in their efforts to elicit concessions from either side in an attempt to renew peace talks. The Palestinians insist on a total settlement freeze and Israel wants to keep the talks confined to borders.
JTA
