WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama said on Friday that he is encouraging peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians because the alternative is a status quo that puts both parties, and the United States, at risk.
Obama told a White House news conference that he knows the talks begun this month will be difficult, but he said the Israeli and Palestinian leaders know they need a deal, and that they need one another.
Obama said the United States will stay engaged in the negotiations, including a visit to the region by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton next week.
