WASHINGTON (AFP)---Israel and the Palestinians will resume direct peace talks in Washington in early September with the aim of reaching a deal within a year to create an independent Palestinian state, US officials announced.
In the first direct talks in 20 months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas will meet face-to-face in Washington on September 2 with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The peace talks will come after Netanyahu and Abbas meet separately the day before with US President Barack Obama, who has made Arab-Israeli peace a priority for his administration, Clinton told reporters.
Obama will also meet separately September 1 with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II, Arab mediators whose states have signed peace treaties with Israel and who, Clinton said, play a "critical role."
Backed by a diplomatic quartet of world powers, the parties will "relaunch direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues, which we believe can be completed within one year," Clinton announced at the State Department.
She was referring to security for Israel, borders of a future Palestinian state, the future of Palestinian refugees, and the fate of Jerusalem.
Clinton said that the "continued leadership and commitment to peace" of both Mubarak and King Abdullah will "will be essential to our success."
Clinton said she and Obama, as well as Netanyahu and Abbas, shared "the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security."
A top Palestinian official in Ramallah said Palestine Liberation Organization voted Saturday to accept the US invitation to peace talks, which Netanyahu had already welcomed.
The White House said it was "very hopeful" about the talks, while in London, Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague called them a "courageous step" towards peace in the region.
"Urgent progress must now be made. We call on all parties to refrain from any activity that could undermine negotiations," Hague added in a statement.
The diplomatic Quartet -- the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union -- reiterated past statements calling for an “end to the Israeli occupation.”
Clinton said the new round of negotiations "should take place without preconditions and be characterized by good faith and a commitment to their success, which will bring a better future to all of the people of the region."
The point appeared designed to appease the Israelis, who reject Palestinian calls for a complete freeze of settlements.
US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, who has shuttled between both sides for months, said the United States will be engaged in the peace talks, which he said could move at some point to the Middle East.
"We will be active and sustained partners, although we recognize that this is a bilateral negotiation, and we have indicated to both parties that, as necessary and appropriate, we will offer bridging proposals," Mitchell said.
He also said Hamas, which has for three years run the Gaza Strip since ousting Abbas's Palestinian Authority, would have no role in the peace talks.
Hamas on Saturday rejected the planned new talks, with spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri telling AFP in Gaza City that: "The Palestinian people will not feel bound by the results of this misleading invitation."
Clinton added that Obama will also host a group dinner on September 1 with the four Middle East leaders and the Quartet representative, former British prime minister Tony Blair.
With the launch of the talks, Clinton warned "there will be difficulties ahead. Without a doubt, we will hit more obstacles. The enemies of peace will keep trying to defeat us and derail these talks.
"But I ask the parties to persevere, to keep moving forward even through difficult times, and to continue working to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region," she said, reading from a prepared statement.
The last round of direct talks collapsed when Israel launched an operation against Hamas in Gaza in December 2008 in a bid to halt rocket fire from the enclave ruled by the Islamist movement.
Netanyahu welcomed the news and declared: "Reaching an agreement is a difficult challenge but is possible."
"The Prime Minister has been calling for direct negotiations for the past year and a half," a statement from Netanyahu's office said. "He was pleased with the American larification that the talks would be without preconditions."
"The PLO executive committee announces its acceptance of a resumption of direct negotiations with Israel," senior Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo said in Ramallah.
Both Netanyahu and Abbas have visited Washington in recent months for talks with Obama, with the White House urging a speedy return to direct negotiations.