Israeli and Palestinian leaders began their first round of direct peace negotiations in more than a year on Thursday, pledging to meet again in two weeks as part of a U.S.-brokered quest for peace.U.S. Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held productive meetings and would meet again in the region on Sept. 14-15 and every two weeks thereafter.
The direct peace negotiations came despite widespread skepticism and fresh violence in the volatile West Bank that underscored the challenges facing both leaders as they seek an agreement within a year to establish an independent Palestinian state that will exist peacefully side-by-side with Israel.