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Israeli and
Palestinian leaders began direct peace negotiations Thursday, saying it
was time to end their conflict but projecting tough talks ahead as
hardliners on both sides vowed never to accept a deal.

One day after U.S.
President Barack Obama made a personal appeal for peace, Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the State
Department to begin talks aimed at establishing an independent
Palestinian state.

“This will not be
easy,” Netanyahu said as talks began. “A true peace, a lasting peace,
(would) be achieved only with mutual and painful concessions from both
sides.” Netanyahu said Israel was ready to go “a long way in a short
time” to reach a peaceful solution to the decades-long conflict, which
Obama has signalled is a top priority for his administration.

Abbas called on
Israel to end the blockade of the Gaza Strip and stop settlement
activity — a potential roadblock to any deal. About half a million
Jewish settlers live in communities scattered all over the West Bank
that have the protection of Israeli armed forces, as well as in Arab
East Jerusalem.

Abbas also said the Palestinians recognized the need for security, a key Israeli demand.

“We want to state our commitment to follow on all our … engagements, including security and ending incitement,” Abbas said.

The direct talks,
which mark a risky personal foray into Middle East peacemaking for
Obama, come after a 20-month hiatus. Negotiators face deep divisions
among both Israelis and Palestinians over the prospects for peace as
well as the one-year timeline that Obama has set.

Acknowledging the
“suspicions and scepticism” that surround the talks, Clinton said the
United States would be a sustained partner in the peace effort but
would not impose its own solution.

‘Peace and dignity’

“By being here
today, you each have taken an important step towards freeing your
peoples from the shackles of a history we cannot change and moving
towards a future of peace and dignity that only you can create,”
Clinton said.

The negotiations
were denounced by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which seized
control of the Gaza Strip from Abbas’ Fatah party in 2007 and rejects
negotiation with Israel.

Hamas, which killed
four Israeli settlers in the a West Bank shooting attack Tuesday, said
it would continue the attacks and ignore any deal struck at the talks.

Jewish settlers,
meanwhile, vowed to launch new construction in their enclaves in the
occupied West Bank, saying they could never accept a “phony peace” that
curbs their right to live in what they consider Israel’s biblical
homeland.

Obama, hosting the
talks ahead of the pivotal November U.S. congressional elections, used
separate meetings with Netanyahu and Abbas Wednesday to urge them not
to let the chance for peace slip away.

The issue of
settlements looms large over the peace talks. Abbas has warned he will
walk out unless Israel extends its self-imposed moratorium before it
expires on September 26.

Israel dismisses
international findings that the Jewish settlements that have been built
since the 1980s in the West Bank, on land occupied by the Israeli
military since 1967, constitute a violation of international law.

Netanyahu, who
heads a coalition dominated by pro-settler parties, has resisted any
formal extension of the partial construction freeze, meaning the
fledgling negotiations will face a major challenge within weeks.

Four Israeli
settlers were killed by Hamas in a shooting attack in the West Bank
Tuesday. Another two people were wounded in a similar attack by
suspected Palestinian gunmen on Wednesday despite a crackdown by
Palestinian police.

Netanyahu welcomed
Abbas’ denunciation of the attack, but said it was important that his
government find a way to stop future attacks by Islamists opposed to a
deal.

“They seek to kill our people, kill our state, kill our peace. And so achieving security is a must,” Netanyahu said.

Abbas — whose
Fatah party holds sway in the West Bank — said his fledgling security
services would stay on the hunt for the perpetrators.

“We will continue
all our effort to take security measures in order to find the
perpetrators. We consider that security is of essence, is vital (for)
both of us,” he said.

Jewish settlers,
who have threatened to topple Netanyahu if he does not allow them to
resume building, said they planned to launch new construction even
before the government’s freeze ends on September 26. They also rejected
Palestinian hopes to set up their own state on the West Bank.

REUTERS