Israel pledges to work with U.S. for peace in Middle East

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's administration pledged on Monday to work with the United States for Mideast peace, but pointedly avoided any reference to Israeli-Palestinian peace talks or President Barak Obama's goal of a Palestinian state.

On Monday in Turkey, Obama said his administration would push for a Palestinian state, underlining that Israel and the Palestinians agreed on that goal under the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan and during a 2007 conference in Annapolis, Md., that were supposed to revive the plan.

"The United States strongly supports the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security," Obama told the Turkish parliament. "That is a goal shared by Palestinians, Israelis, and people of good will around the world. That is a goal that the parties agreed to in the road map and at Annapolis. And that is a goal that I will actively pursue as president."

At the Annapolis conference, Israel and the Palestinians jointly endorsed Palestinian statehood, but that appears to have changed with the entry of Netanyahu's new, hawkish government last week.

Netanyahu's foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has ridiculed the conference and said its conclusions are not binding on Israel.

Netanyahu has not endorsed creation of a Palestinian state.

"Israel appreciates President Obama's commitment to Israel's security and to the pursuit of peace," said a brief statement released by Netanyahu's office after Obama's comments. "The government of Israel is committed to both of these goals and will formulate its policies in the near future so as to work closely with the United States," the statement said, without mentioning Annapolis or Palestinian statehood.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat welcomed Obama's endorsement of a Palestinian state. "We hope that the Israeli government will understand that this is the only path to peace," he told The Associated Press.

After meeting Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, international peace envoy Tony Blair was uncharacteristically pessimistic.

"There is a great deal of skepticism out there at the present time that we can make progress," Blair told reporters. "There's a lot of worry, hesitation and concern."

Even so, Blair thought Netanyahu would come around to agreeing to a Palestinian state "if the right context can be created for peace."