Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation have welcomed the formal invitation issued on August 20 by US secretary of state Hillary Clinton to resume direct peace negotiations in Washington DC in September.
 
There has been a break since late 2008 in direct talks.
 
According to a report by the Voice of America, US officials say that a peace accord can be achieved within a year, and that the US  is ready if needed to offer "bridging proposals."
 
Plans are being made for US president Barack Obama to host a meeting of Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders on September 1 2010 on the eve of the formal re-launch of negotiations the following day at the US state department.
 
At a news conference on August 20, Clinton said that she and Obama were encouraged by the leadership of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, and share their commitment to a two-state solution of the conflict.

She said Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian king Abdullah will attend in view of their critical role in the effort, and that continued Arab support will be essential to success.

Clinton appealed to both sides to avoid steps that would hinder direct negotiations and acknowledged that difficulties can be expected, VOA reported.

"Without a doubt we will hit more obstacles," Clinton said. "The enemies of peace will keep trying to defeat us and to derail the 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."
 
Shortly after the announcement, Netanyahu said that he welcomed the invitation for direct talks without preconditions, CNN said.
 
The executive committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization said that it, too, would participate, though chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told CNN that Israel must extend its moratorium on settlements that is due to expire September 26.
 
"The non-extension of this moratorium in settlements will mean we will not have negotiations. It's as simple as this," he said.
 
About the goal of resolving long-standing issues, he said, "I think it's doable."
 
But Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said that the Palestinians must offer something, too. "We want to make sure there are ironclad agreements to make sure there will be peace and security, because you can't have one without the other."
 
Hamas, the anti-Israel group that runs Gaza, rejected the talks, though the group had not been invited to join them, CNN said. 
 
Direct bilateral talks have not been held since late 2008, but indirect, or proximity, talks resumed in May this year, with the former United States senator George Mitchell shuttling between Netanyahu and Abbas.

Seven rounds of indirect talks have been held and earlier this week Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco told a UN Security Council meeting that the push to resume direct talks had reached a turning point, the UN News Service said.

On July 29 2010, Arab League foreign ministers agreed to give their backing in principle to Abbas re-starting direct negotiations when he deems it appropriate.
 
In tandem with the Clinton announcement, the international Middle East Quartet - the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States - issued a statement endorsing direct negotiations and urging the sides to refrain from "provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric."

In language seen as critical to getting Palestinian participation, the Quartet said an envisaged settlement would "end the occupation which began in 1967" and lead to regional peace as envisaged in UN Security Council resolutions and the 2002 Arab League peace initiative.
 
The statement, posted on the European Commission website, said that the representatives of the Quartet reaffirm their strong support for direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians to resolve all final status issues.
 
"The Quartet reaffirms its full commitment to its previous statements, including in Trieste on 26 June 2009, in New York on 24 September 2009, and its statement in Moscow on 19 March 2010 which provides that direct, bilateral negotiations that resolve all final status issues should ‘lead to a settlement, negotiated between the parties, that ends the occupation which began in 1967 and results in the emergence of an independent, democratic, and viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbours’."
 
The Quartet expressed its determination to support the parties throughout the negotiations, "which can be completed within one year", and the implementation of an agreement.
 
"The Quartet again calls on both sides to observe calm and restraint, and to refrain from provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric."
 
Welcoming the result of the Arab Peace Initiative Committee in Cairo on July 29, the Quartet said that success would require sustained regional and international support for the negotiations and the parallel process of Palestinian state-building and "the pursuit of a just, lasting and comprehensive regional peace as envisaged in the Madrid terms of reference, Security Council resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative".
 
The Quartet Principals intend to meet with their colleagues from the Arab League in September in New York to review the situation, the statement said.
 
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in an August 20 statement tht she welcomed the decision by Israel and the Palestinians to resume direct negotiations.
 
"This decision by the parties to engage in substantive talks represents a major step on the road towards a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the region, something I am hopeful we can now achieve," Ashton said.
 
Ashton said that as a member of the Quartet, and on behalf of the EU, she would continue to work with the parties to support the negotiations.
 
"We all want to see a two-state solution with the State of Israel and an independent, democratic, contiguous and viable State of Palestine, living side by side in peace and
security with each other and their neighbours."
 
The parties must work fast and hard on all the final status issues to meet the Quartet's call for a negotiated settlement within one year, Ashton said.
 
"To give negotiations the best chance of success, an enabling environment on the ground is essential. It is therefore imperative that both parties keep calm and exercise restraint. They should only act on the basis of international law, refraining from all provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric," she said.
 
Successful negotiations would also need sustained regional, international support and the
continuation of the Palestinian state-building process, which the EU fully supports, Ashton said, calling on all concerned to fulfil previous pledges to help the Palestinian Authority.
 
"I also want to reiterate the EU's readiness to contribute substantially to post-conflict arrangements aimed at ensuring the sustainability of peace agreements," she said.

In a statement on August 21, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the decision by the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to begin direct negotiations and described the talks on the Middle East peace process "an opportunity that must not be wasted", the UN News Service said.

Ban said "negotiations are on the only way for the parties to resolve all final status issues" and he called on both sides to demonstrate leadership and responsibility "to realise the aspirations of both peoples."

The statement said that the international community's support for the negotiations is vital if they are to be successful and a comprehensive peace agreement is to be reached.

"This opportunity must be seized so that the hope of a better future for the people of the region to live in peace, security and freedom can be fully realised," Ban said.