(17 Mar 2014) President Barack Obama said on Monday that a Middle East peace solution remained elusive but that he was hoping to see progress in the coming days and weeks.
Obama spoke as he sat down with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the Oval Office to discuss the path forward.
The US president said everyone understood what the contours of a peace deal looked like - territory based on lands prior to their Israeli capture in 1967, with "mutually agreed upon swaps," that ensure the security of Israel and a sovereign state for Palestinians, but achieving it would still be challenging.
Abbas responded that he considered this a historic opportunity and thanked Obama for economic and political support.
He made special note of an agreement brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry for Israel to release a fourth round of prisoners.
"We are hopeful that the fourth batch will be released by the 29th of March because this would give a very solid impression" about taking steps toward peace, he said.
Obama held a similar meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu two weeks ago in which he urged Israel to make the "tough decisions" needed to move forward.
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