US secretary of state Hillary Clinton pledged today to press hard for Palestinian statehood, putting Washington on a possible collision course with Israeli prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu.
"We happen to believe that moving towards a two-state solution is in Israel's best interests," Mrs Clinton, referring to the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, told a news conference with Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni.
"It is our assessment that eventually, the inevitability of working towards a two-state solution is inescapable," she said.
Mr Netanyahu, whom Mrs Clinton was to meet later today, has spoken of Palestinian self-government but has shied away from saying he would back a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.
Holding talks in Jerusalem after attending a donors' conference in Egypt for the Gaza Strip, Mrs Clinton reaffirmed the Obama administration's vision of Israeli-Palestinian peace. "The United States will be vigorously engaged in the pursuit of a two-state solution every step of the way," she said. "The road ahead, we acknowledge, is a difficult one, but there is no time to waste."
At the news conference, Mrs Clinton also said the Obama administration would be sending two officials to Syria to discuss bilateral issues. "There are a number of issues that we have between Syria and the United States, as well as the larger regional concerns that Syria obviously poses," she said.
Mr Netanyahu, who clashed often with the US administration when Bill Clinton was in the White House, was asked by Israeli president Shimon Peres after Israel's election last month to try to form a government.
He has enough parliamentary support to put together a right-wing government but has been seeking, unsuccessfully so far, to form a middle-of-the-road coalition that could reduce the chances of friction with the United States.
Mr Netanyahu supports expansion of existing Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, a policy opposed by Washington and which Palestinians say could deny them a viable state.
The Bush administration was criticised for making efforts in Middle East peacemaking too late. President Barack Obama has said it will be a priority and Ms Clinton pledged to push on "many fronts" early on.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, revived in late 2007, have stalled over violence, settlement-building and disputes over other core issues such as the future of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.
Reuters