Obama To Abbas And Netanyahu: ‘We Must All Take Risks For Peace’

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Obama, and Palestinian Authority President Abbas
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President Obama told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they “must take risks for peace” in trilateral meetings, Middle East Envoy George Mitchell told ABC News.

Reading from notes taken during the meeting, Mitchell quoted the President as saying:

It’s difficult to disentangle ourselves from history but we must do so. The only reason to hold public office is to get things done. We all must take risks for peace. Peace between Israel and the Palestinians is critical to Israel’s security and it’s necessary for Palestinians to realize their aspirations.

A “senior U.S. official” also said Obama wanted to impart “a sense of his impatience and seriousness and his analysis that they need to get going.” Peace talks “can’t just be a perpetual kabuki,” the official said, if Obama is “going to continue to invest his political capital.”

Before the meeting, Obama called on the leaders to “find a way forward.”

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