can abu mazen speak for the palestinian people? >> not without hamas. and let me put it this way there's no question the palestinian people are divided d i my own mind there is way that any palestinian leader can sell a compromise solution. which means you would matly he's going to have to have hamas backing. >> warner: abbas and the hamas leader have engaged in halting reconciliation talks moderated by egypt's new islamist government but both camps suspect a major outside player may be trying to dissuade a healing of the breach. the u.s. has been pressuring the palestinian leadership not to reconciliate with hamas? >> i maye blt. i think the pressure has not been overt or public but yes. there have been pressures. war warp this hamas official sees the same. >> ( translated ): the reconciliation is no longer between fatah and hamas, it's become something between fatah, hamas, the u.s., israel, the e.u. and some arab regimes. the external pressures and the american dictates that bring up conditions on the reconciliation are what prevent it from happening

why do you go to talk with abu mazen in ramallah?" >> warner: abu mazen is palestinian president mahmoud abbas, who greeted mr. obama in ramallah at mid-day, a small band of protestors in the city center was kept well away; just outside the city, there were minor clashes with israeli troops. the two leaders held talks on one priority of president's four-day visit to the visit: re- invigorating peace talks between israelis and palestinians. but contrary to the apparent and uncharacteristic chumminess with prime minister netanyahu yesterday, mr. obama and abbas displayed an understated- business like-tone in a brief press conference. the president denounced the morning's rocket attack and the group that rules in gaza. >> hamas cares more about enforcing its own rigid dogmas than allowing palestinians to live freely; and because too often it focuses on tearing israel down rather than building palestine up. >> warner: on the issue at hand, the president did say his administration was committed to give the moribund peace process another tr

and this certainly has put abu mazen, mahmoud abbas, the president of the palestinians on the spot.e's some indications that he's willing to bend or yield a wink and a nod. what are you hearing? >> well, i think, let me say in general that this trip is not to make peace between the israelis and the palestinians. the president wanted first to make peace with the prime minister, netenyahu or at least reach a truce with him. and then build a bridge directly to the israeli people. keep in mind, andrea that netenyahu comes to washington, he goes to the congress. and talks to the american people directly over the heads of the american president. barack obama essentially did it today, and he spoke to the israelis, he was very compassionate, he was very warm. he told them how much he loved israel and its history and jewish identity and all that he said the right things to the israeli people. on the part that has to do with the palestinians and peace process, whether in ramallah or in israel, i think he made a very eloquent compassionate rational case for peace. probably more eloquently and

we consider that the president of the palestinian authority, abu mazen, is our partner in that effort to stop terror and bring peace. hamas remains a terror organization that targets innocent people. on our northern border iran's proxy, hezbollah, continues to stockpile arms and threaten our civilians while they urgently, while they target innocent people across the world. hezbollah is destroying lebanon and supporting the brutal massacre of the syrian people by president assad. fortunately the syrian nuclear capacity was destroyed but unfortunately thousands of chemical weapons remain. we can not allow those weapons to fall in the terrorists hands. itco lead to an epic tragedy. there's an attempt to bring spring to the arab world. it is an arab choice. it is an arab initiative. it may bring peace to the region, freedom to the people, economic progress to arab states. if realized it can lead to a better tomorrow. we pray it will become a reality. the vision between skeptics and those who believe in peace. your voice will encourage belief. you came -- you came to us with the clear mess

there will be a private discussion with abu mazen on syria as well. you have 400,000 palestinians who are in syria and who are in a very vulnerable position and it's hard to imagine even if that is not much of a public dimension for the conversation it is hard to imagine that will not be part of the private conversation. sure there will be a focus on the peace issue but there will also be a focus on this and what if anything we in the international community could be doing to somehow safeguard those palestinians who are there. i would say with jordan you're also going to have a public and private dimension. first of all just being there sends a signal of interest which i think is important but here the private dimension i think has to focus as much as anything on syria. you have 400,000 syrian refugees in jordan today. 100,000 additional since the beginning of this year. if the pace continues you could have something like 700,000 by june. the impact on jordan, its ability to absorb this, is actually very hard to contemplate. and i think, here again, y