Obama presses two-state solution in U.S.-Israel talks

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday pressed a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict but failed to win a commitment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to back Palestinian statehood.

In their first White House talks, Obama also urged Netanyahu to freeze Jewish settlement building but sought to reassure Israelis wary about his overtures to Iran that he would not wait indefinitely for diplomatic progress toward curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Obama sees engagement in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking as crucial to fixing America’s image in the Muslim world and drawing moderate Arab states into a united front against Iran.