WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says there’s hope for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but that doesn’t mean he is “blindly optimistic.”
The comments came as his administration and Jordan, a key Arab ally, stepped up calls for the two sides to return to direct negotiations.
In an interview taped Wednesday for Israeli television, Obama said Israel is right to be skeptical about the peace process. But he noted that many people thought the founding of Israel was impossible, so its very existence should be “a great source of hope.”
The interview followed a White House meeting Tuesday between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at which the two leaders expressed support for upgrading the indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks. The Associated Press
