Leaders tout two-state solution to Middle East peace

Israeli president Shimon Peres stopped by the White House May 5 to meet with President Obama. Few details were released about their meeting or discussions on Middle East peace. However, on the same day Vice President Biden said “Israel has to work towards a two-state solution.”

Speaking before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC,) Biden said the U.S. commitment to Israel’s peace and security is “not negotiable” and “not a matter of change” under the Obama administration. The “basic responsibility” of the United States is to ensure “that there will always, always be a place for Jews of the world to go … and that place always must be Israel.”

For more see “Biden Urges Israel to End Settlements, Back Two-State Solution.”

Day 91: Obama meets with Jordan’s King Abdullah

Jordan’s King Abdullah II visited the White House today and discussed the Middle East peace process along with broader international topics like the economy and terrorism.

Speaking about the Middle East peace process, Obama said he is a strong supporter of a two-state solution and the United States wants to “continue to encourage a commitment on the part of the Arab states to the peace process.” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the president will invite Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian leaders to the White House to discuss the process.

Arabs and Muslims have had “an outstanding response to the president’s outreach to the Muslim and Arab world,” Abdullah said. “It has gone down extremely well, and really begins, I believe, a new page of mutual respect and mutual understanding between cultures.”

For more, see “United States Will Be Engaged in Arab-Israeli Peace Process.”