The idea that the rest of the world was somehow being held hostage by the Arab-Israeli conflict once had a minimal basis in reality. In the first 20 years of Israel's existence every Arab country was in an active state of war with the Jewish state.

And in this respect the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a tragedy a clash between one very powerful very convincing very painful claim over this land and another no less powerful no less convincing claim.

The Arab-Israeli conflict is also in many ways a conflict about status: it's a war between two peoples who feel deeply humiliated by the other who want the other to respect them. Battles over status can be even more intractable than those over land or water or oil.

Twenty five percent of Israeli citizens are not even Jewish. Anybody can become an Israeli citizen if you qualify. Religion is not a criterion for citizenship.

The Israeli people must be free to live in peace and security.

By focusing once and for all on helping the Palestinians build a free society I have no doubt that an historic compromise between Israelis and Palestinians can be reached and that peace can prevail.

I'm on the board of directors for Peace Now which works tirelessly between the Palestinians and the Israelis to create peace in the Middle East and we've never been closer.

Peace should provide security. It should be durable. I'm ready to go far in making painful concessions. But there is one thing I will never make any concessions on and that's the security of the Israeli citizens and the very existence of the state of Israel. The Palestinians are losing time.

Like all Israelis I yearn for peace. I see the utmost importance in taking all possible steps that will lead to a solution of the conflict with the Palestinians.

You can set up whatever negotiations or structure you want but until the Palestinians are willing to accept the fact as the majority of Israelis do that there should be two states between the Jordan and the Mediterranean we won't have peace.

Success is not assured but America is resolute: this is the best chance for peace we are likely to see for some years to come - and we are acting to help Israelis and Palestinians seize this chance.

We will stand up for our friends in the world. And one of the most important friends is the State of Israel. My administration will be steadfast in support Israel against terrorism and violence and in seeking the peace for which all Israelis pray.

Hezbollah's contempt for human suffering is total as it showed once again this morning when its rockets murdered two Israeli Arab children in Nazareth.

If you look at military and intelligence positions from the 1950s the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has always been against American national interests.

And on the other hand we see that the Israeli government is attacking that part of the Palestinian leader.

The Israeli government has proved over the past year its commitment to peace both in words and deeds. By contrast the Palestinians are posing preconditions for renewing the diplomatic process in a way they have not done over the course of 16 years.

But there's one thing we are not going to compromise at all: when it comes to security of Israeli citizens and the State of Israel there are not going to be any compromises - not now and not in the future.

Blowing up buses will not induce the Israelis to move forward and neither will the killing of Palestinians or the demolition of their homes and their future. All this needs to stop. And we pledge that Jordan will do its utmost to help achieve it.

The security and the future of Jordan is hand-in-hand with the future of the Palestinians and the Israelis.

We have a close unshakable bond between the United States and Israel and between the American and Israeli people. We share common values and a commitment to a democratic future for the world and we are both committed to a two-state solution. But that doesn't mean that we're going to agree.

Israelis can be proud of the vibrant democracy that they have created and I know that many Rhode Islanders share my deep appreciation for the close friendship between our two nations.

Americans admire a people who can scratch a desert and produce a garden. The Israelis have shown qualities that Americans identify with: guts patriotism idealism a passion for freedom. I have seen it. I know. I believe that.

Our law is a Jordanian law that we inherited which applies to both the West Bank and Gaza and sets the death penalty for those who sell land to Israelis.

You don't have any communication between the Israelis and the Iranians. You have all sorts of local triggers for conflict. Having countries act on a hair trigger - where they can't afford to be second to strike - the potential for a miscalculation or a nuclear war through inadvertence is simply too high.