Israel and Palestinians resumed peace talks on Monday night over an Iftar dinner hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department.
Those present included Israeli negotiators Tzipi Livni and Yitzhak Molcho, Palestinian negotiators Saeb Erekat and Mohammad Shtayyeh, and Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel who was named the new envoy earlier in the day to oversee the negotiations in the coming months.
Kerry spoke to each negotiating team for about 45 minutes before joining them for the dinner.
The Iftar dinner, which marks the breaking of the day-long fast observed by Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, was the start of two-day initial talks between Israel and Palestinians, during which they will set the formula for formal final status negotiations expected to last at least nine months.
The Monday meeting, which comes almost three years after the last direct talks broke down between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, is the direct result of Kerry's intensive shuttle diplomacy in his six trips to the Middle East after taking office on Feb. 1.
The Israeli cabinet agreed Sunday to release 104 long-held Palestinian prisoners during the upcoming negotiations, meeting a demand by the Palestinians for the resumption of talks.
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Jen Psaki, Kerry's spokeswoman, said the secretary still believes that time is running out for a peace agreement.
"He believes that time is not our ally, which is why we're working so hard on this issue now," she told a regular press briefing. "As time passes, the situation on the ground becomes more complicated. Mistrust deepens and hardens."
"That's one of the reasons why they have all agreed to focus on having talks, not just for the sake of talks, but this is the beginning of direct final status negotiations on at least a nine-month time table," Psaki added.
But she stressed that the time frame is not a deadline.
"It is an agreement to engage in direct final status negotiations for at least nine months," Psaki explained. "So we're going to make every effort to reach an agreement within that time frame. But, again, if we're making progress and we're continuing to make progress, this is not a deadline."
Both Kerry and President Barack Obama acknowledged massive challenges ahead, calling for "reasonable compromises" and "good faith" in the talks.
"Going forward, it's no secret this is a difficult process," Kerry told reporters at the State Department when he named Indyk as his new envoy.
"If it were easy, it would have happened a long time ago," he said. "It is no secret, therefore, that many difficult choices lie ahead for the negotiators and for the leaders as we seek reasonable compromises on tough, complicated, emotional and symbolic issues."
Jerusalem, security, the Jewish settlements, borders and refugees are among the core issues to be covered in the final status negotiations.
"I think reasonable compromises have to be a keystone of all of this effort," Kerry stressed.
For his part, Obama called for good faith and sustained focus and determination in approaching the talks.
In a statement, he said Washington stands ready to support them throughout these negotiations, with the goal of achieving two states, living side by side in peace and security.
Peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians have gone off and on during the past two decades, since the principle of "land for peace" was established in October 1991.
Kerry and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair have put in place a 4-billion-U.S. dollar economic development plan for the Palestinians.
And the Arab League has endorsed Kerry's proposals for restarting the talks.
Kerry will have a trilateral meeting with Livni and Erekat on Tuesday morning before making announcements with them about the next moves.