WASHINGTON
The US, which brought Israel and Palestine together at the same table after three years, is aware of the toughness of the peace negotiations yet it still seems optimistic and hopeful.
The US casted the role of being a "facilitator" during negotiations and it will be the "only official speaker of the talks" in order to decrease the "various provocations and blockings during the process."
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators began the tough and minimum 9-month-long adventure within the scope of reaching a final status. After three years, both sides came together for the first time on Tuesday and held a direct meeting during iftar hosted by US Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department and took the first step of finding a solution to a 60-year-long dispute.
Even though the dissidence continues in key issues between sides and the shadow of unsuccessful attempts to find a solution to Israel-Palestine dispute from previous years was there, statements after meetings showed that Israeli, Palestinian and US sides were optimistic.
- US is aware of the toughness yet it wants to be hopeful-
Informing about the process, US authorities noted that both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were praised for showing "leadership and courage". Also, the US officials called the Washington talks as "beginning of a long journey".
An executive from the US State Department emphasized that they weren't mistaken as if the process would pass easily. Moreover, in regards to the role of the US during the process, US officials said that talks were directly between Israeli and Palestinians and the process would be run by them. During the talks process, the US would take the role of being a "facilitator" and be ready to contribute in any stages of the process. Officials added that they haven't decided on the details of this role.
An executive from the White House stated that as US, they expect "brave" steps from all sides to assure the process being successful.
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