Mideast Talks Re-open Under Tough Conditions

The U.S. relaunches Israeli-Palestinian talks this week, its third push over the past decade to solve one of the world's most intractable conflicts - and this time under some of the most difficult conditions yet.

The gaps are wider than ever, distrust between the two peoples runs deep and Islamic militants opposed to a peace deal control half of what would be a future Palestinian state.

There's almost no chance of a comprehensive agreement any time soon, given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard stance on concessions to the Palestinians and President Mahmoud Abbas' weak position as representative of only half the Palestinians.

All the momentum is coming from President Barack Obama, who unlike Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, is tackling the issue early in his term and has already shown himself to be an energetic broker.

But even U.S. officials concede they don't expect any major breakthroughs and say simply getting the two sides to agree to a second round of talks, followed by more frequent meetings, will be a success. U.S. officials hope a follow-up round can be held in the region, likely in Egypt, in the second week of September.

"While the parameters of an ultimate, comprehensive peace agreement are well known, we do not expect to achieve peace in one meeting," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters in Washington on Monday.

He said the U.S. hopes to launch vigorous talks between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders and their teams of experts, with the "full participation" of the U.S. and support from other countries.

Besides Netanyahu and Abbas, Obama is hosting Jordan's King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the White House on Wednesday. Negotiations are to begin Thursday, with the aim of hammering out the details of a Palestinian state alongside Israel within a year.

Despite that optimistic timetable, the first crisis is expected as early as next month, when Netanyahu has to decide whether to extend a 10-month freeze on Israeli settlement building on lands the Palestinians want for their state. Abbas has warned he'll quit the talks unless the freeze continues, but Netanyahu has so far made no commitments.

Even if that first hurdle is cleared, negotiations can easily be disrupted by Abbas' main rival, the Islamic militant Hamas, or by Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners.

Hamas, which has run Gaza since a violent takeover in 2007, could resume rocket fire on Israel to try to derail talks. Israeli hard-liners could quit the government to put the brakes on Netanyahu, either forcing time-consuming new elections or a coalition reshuffle.

But the biggest obstacles remain the wide gaps between Abbas and Netanyahu, and Hamas' entrenchment in Gaza.