netanyahu credit.n the terrorist attack occurred and four israelis were killed, that in the past would have been the excuse for ending talks. the fact that he went beyond that and said the talks and the and the mission is the most important, i think that says the seriousness of this and it is like nixon going to china, i hope. >> i think you have to have more participation by the saudis. i think you have to have the jordanians step up. you have to have the arab world deal with this problem of a moderate if they don't do it, where do we go? >> to be continued. once labor day and hurricane earl is behind us, congress returns. >> if you can get a payroll tax holiday, that is huge. a lot of the benefits would flow to workers and give reasons to employ more people. i will take it. it if it is of sufficient scale. >> it has to be big? paul krugman was talking about a washington post report that says the white house is looking at a series of tax breaks including a temporary payroll tax holiday. well that fly

netanyahu, in 1998, his government fell apart. i think there has not been enough of a steady about 1998. i looked right a little more about this. i think this is netanyahu's fear, that he does go forward as he did in 1998. he lost the right. then barack obama son opening for early elections, and there was no reconfigured government. it seems to me that netanyahu will not want to lose his coalition until he absolutely has to, so he doesn't know if he has a burden on the palestinian issue. therefore, in my view, he might go with 28 seats and 120 members. but only if he knows that it is ironclad, meaning an ironclad agreement with the palestinians, i do not think could be met with. but i think he is haunted by 1998. i think it is a key factor. on the palestinian context, we talk about the weakness of a boss. icc in the handout, and almost every stage and now, while his supporters not sky-high, double that of hamas. hamas is certainly not 10-feet tall in the palestinian polls at all. you have hamas now getting $500 million. and again,

tavis: so whether one agrees orr netanyahu, you are in the region tonight.t is it doing to the notion of peace talks progressing this issue? >> it is fracturing that notion pretty seriously. i think that interestingly, the american government and european governments as well as the palestinians and other arab countries all hope and believe that prime minister netanyahu would extend the settlement freeze. when in the interest he did not, a crisis did lower over the whole situation. from the beginning, the president of the palestinian abbas said ifhmood of bo they start building of settlements again, i am walking. he is going to consult this saturday with the palestinian liberation organization and the central committee of his movement. on monday, in cairo, there is going to be a meeting of foreign ministers of the arab league. between those three sets of meetings, in theory, he is going to come up with an answer. in theory, george mitchell is here and catherine ashton, the european union minister is also coming here tomorrow. i know that hillary clinton is on

senator, prime minister netanyahu mentioned iran this morning. wouldn't that be making things more difficult for you to close the gap between the two parties? >> in every aspect of human life, including your personal life and mine, the world is much different today than it was 10 years ago and vastly different than it was 20 years ago. and that is certainly true of the middle east. it is an area of rapid change, of many conflicting currents that historians and analysts have described far better than i could in any exchange we have here. but obviously, the actions and policies of the current government of iran have an effect in the region and in the wider world, and they influence what is occurring here. and in my judgment, they add another argument to those which i've already made and which many others have made as to why this conflict should be resolved. it is in the interests of the people involved, and in this respect, the word "comprehensive peace" is directly relevant. please recall that when president obama announced my appointment two days

obama is counting on netanyahu did help keep the talks moving. at the u.s.resident faces the prospect that -- suspect of his democrats losing their majority in congress, republicans have an unprecedented 10-point advantage in the most recent gallup poll of u.s. voters. that certainly is keeping up the pressure on all sides to come up with a deal. >> despite the many attempts at mideast peace by his predecessors, none have been successful. why then should president obama buck that trend? >> this time i think it is different because you have a president who is committed to not just israeli-palestinian peace but for regional comprehensive peace. and he said it from day one time and time again. that is a very different from the previous president. >> obama is aiming for a breakthrough with talks within a year. but is uneasy relationship with the israeli prime minister could complicate things >> from what we can see probably, i think it is the puck -- it is a complicated relationship. but it is a relationship where they understand that they need each other on a c

abbas as well as prime minister netanyahu. the good news is the talks have not ended. you have abbas saying -- president abbas saying he would

to create an atmosphere for netanyahu and abbas, the measure of each other. that's why they had a two and a half hour meeting today one on one, tete-a-tete. at last hour hillary clinton joined them. and the palestinians essentially are saying we came here with an open mind and an open heart to see if this man is serious about peace and everybody is becoming talmudic watching every word here and there. yesterday netanyahu referred as the west bank as the west bank, not judean sue mariya. so the administration is going to face a tough situation convincing them really to work seriously. >> woodruff: so are you picking up signals in what they're saying and what you're hearing privately that leads you to believe that the will is there, that the ground work is being laid for real progress? >> first of all, important to clarify. this... trying to get past the september 26 settlement hurdle will largely be an american/israeli conversation. the palestinians will essentially say "as far as we're concerned, total moratorium." in terms of what one's picking up, we don't

prime minister netanyahu has refused to put a more -- extend the moratorium on building. >> preparing the ground for new homes in the community in the west bank. israel's moratorium had lasted 10 months and was a crucial element in bringing the palestinians back into negotiations with israelis. all eyes will be on what happens on the ground. shortly before the restrictions on construction ended, inside of the west bank they had ground for a day care center for children. settlers vowed that work would begin on 2000 homes across the west bank. there are around 300,000 settlers from the living there, as well as pro-settler coalition parties. the latest events are a direct challenge to the palestinian leader, who threatened to walk away if the moratorium was not extended. palestinians extended the message to the arab league. >> serious negotiations and settlement activity that should stop immediately. this is the only way to continue fruitful talks. >> the israeli government is urging the palestinians to stay in the talks. >> ultimately, only through direct and serious negotiation can we

. >> president abbas and prime minister netanyahu were here last week, and they came with a sense of purpose and seriousness and cordiality that, frankly, exceeded a lot of people's expectations. what they said was that they were serious about negotiating. they affirmed the goal of creating two states, living side by side in peace and security. they have set up a schedule where they're going to meet every two weeks. we are actively participating in that process. secretary of state hillary clinton will be flying to the middle east for the first series of next meetings on september 14th and 15th. and so what we've done is to bring the parties together to try to get them to recognize that the path for israeli security and palestinian sovereignty can only be met through negotiations. and these are going to be tough negotiations. there are enormous hurdles between now and our endpoint, and there are going to be a whole bunch of folks in the region who want to undermine these negotiations. we saw it when hamas carried out these horrific attacks against civilians -- and explicitly said, we'

that's what happened when we saw israeli prime minister netanyahu and president abbas coe to taun to reopen the peace talks. and they actually talked to each other. >> i see you a partner for peace. together, we can lead our people to a historic future that can put an end to claims and to conflict. >> let us sign an agreement for peace and put an end to a very long period of struggle. gwen: but is it real? and why are we seeing this now? there is something remarkable about watching netanyahu turn to abbas and say, sign your agreement for peace. they don't like each other. >> they don't like each other until relatively recently. the white house wouldn't have chosen this month to do this. they were trying to turn the page to the economy. a president can't control the pace of diplomacy. president obama has been trying to get these talks since day one. so you have to ask, what took you so long. gwen: which is very different from what the last president did. it took a long time. >> that's right. there is a settlement freeze right now, construction freeze in the west bank. that is running

the president has had a meeting with prime minister netanyahu today. the secretary had a further meeting here tomorrow. we are sharing ideas among the parties. i cannot say -- i was in the meetings today -- whether this is the position that the israelis have put on the table or not. clearly the issues of settlements, jerusalem, refugees, borders, security, are the issues that we have been talking about it in the lead up to these meetings. they will be discussed at these meetings. we will be negotiating these issues as we try to reach a final agreement. >> where the september 25? any indications that the israelis may move against it? >> the direct negotiations that we sought for the past 19 months, they have arrived. they are under way. we're talking about all the issues. we want to see the start of the big process. moving forward, that is what we are pursuing today. we're touching all the bases. hold on. >> the palestinian president is adamant about stopping all settlements as a precondition for talks. are they being more flexible on this? >> i can rep

netanyahu's fears and concerns? >> larry: yeah -- >> translator: why should we be doing that for him? who is he? >> larry: he's the head of a country -- >> translator: who is he in the first place to begin with? he is a skilled killer. all dictators in the world have condemned others, and he's one of many of them. >> larry: maybe -- >> translator: he should be put on trial for killing palestinians, for placing gaza under siege, which is against the law and against the spirit of the charter of the united nations. he should be put on trial for killing women and children and you want to allay his fears and concerns? >> larry: i want to allah yours >> translator: allow me to ask a question from you. why does u.s. media feel so responsible for allaying mr. netanyahu's concerns and fears? >> larry: because -- >> translator: why? >> larry: -- what if he took his concerns to the next step and threatened you? so shouldn't you be concerned about him? you, iran? >> translator: so you are afraid that he might start a war? these

the question is, which is prime minister netanyahu? at the same of the "new york times" ps there is a quote from an israeli analysts, the key is whether enough pressure is exerted by the americans on benjamin netanyahu. host: by contrast, looking at the arab newspapers. a headline on this story -- abbas has the will and the way. what are his political realities? guest: a very complicated place. every palestinian was the same thing, an end to the occupation. on the palestinian side there is no one who doubts the sincerity of present abbas to achieve that -- president mahmoud abbas to achieve that. does he not have the backing of the public to strengthen his hand? the way the united states has played this hand, this is the weakest link in the chain. the united states in effect has not really tried to help establish a very solid unified palestinian policy. it has tried to emphasize support for individuals. i think it does not even help the individuals it is meant to help. individuals need the backing of political parties. it would be as i

netanyahu? who's the world? >> larry: if anybody drops a nuclear bomb on anybody, the whole world is involved. you know that. >>. >> translator: allow me, allow me here. you are aware that in polls, 88% of the people in the region support iran's nuclear activities. so who's concerned? >> larry: what -- >> translator: this is the first question. it's iran's nuclear activities. no one expresses fear about iran's nuclear activities in the region except the zionist regime and the fear of some american authorities. we are not seeking the bomb. we have no interest in it. and we do not think it is useful. we are standing firm over the issue that both the zionist regime and the united states government should be disarmed. the threat to the world are the bombs that the u.s. government and the zionist regime have. if they think that by propagating against iran that they can basically change their opinion, they are wrong. we will pursue it in all international organizations. we will discuss in the review process. the zioni

netanyahu is saying, i'm not going to continue what exists. the question is, if between those positions there is a certain middle ground each side could be happy. there is some drama now. between now and september 26, i think this is the first test of the talks, and i think this issue has to be addressed in some form. even if netanyahu goes for the meridor idea, i think that is a different way to signal to the israeli people about your ultimate intentions, because you would say israel is not going to keep 95% of the west bank. >> just one initial thought about the settlement issue. there is really two promises out there. there is the public moritorium and then there is the private de facto no building in jeruslem. one could imagine the israeli government shifting on the quiet defacto no building in jeruslem, and they never made a promise not to do that. that would have an interesting trigger effect as well. there are options one could consider if one is creative about this. yes, please. >> is it conventional wisdom that this would mean the end

israel prime minister benjamin netanyahu asked the palestinian side to take strict terror. measures. >> security is the foundation of peace. without it peace will unravel. >> reporter: but the palestinian president, mahmoud abbas demanded israeli government to freeze the settlement expansion and the future palestinian territory. >> reporter: meanwhile, in the series of incidents in the west bank, armed palestinians opened fire on jewish settlers. the attacks prompted israelis to voice their opposition to direct peace talks. the palestinian israeli group hamas has declared that it will continue attacks on jewish settlers in apparent attempt to block the peace process. on the first day of the direct talks, the two sides condemned the violence to civilians. they then agreed to meet every further details. in the past, u.s. administrations have failed in the attempt to mediate a middle east peace process. in addition to the different positions of the two sides, moves to disrupt the peace process have already come to light. the attention is focused on how determined the israelis

today his spokesman said the peace process should go forward. >> prime minister netanyahu called upon president abbas to continue with these talks because ultimately, onlythrough ongoing, serious direct talks, can we build a better future for israelis and palestinians. >> reporter: netanyahu faced heavy pressure from his governing coalition to resume construction of settlements. but others in the government's more moderate wing like israeli president shimon peres urged caution. >> our fate has been and remained hinged on the peace we have achieved ats. risk. we where in a period of some uncertainty, a sort of passing crisis. i hope that whatever happens we cannot stop efforts to achieve a cleat peace-- complete peace. >> reporter: direct talks restarted in washington with abbas and netanyahu at the white house just over three weeks ago. a state department official said today the u.s. was disappointed that israel allowed the building moratorium to expire. u.s. official middle east envoy george mitchell heads back to the region tomorrow with stops in israel and ramallah. both sides have

. >> prime minister netanyahu said that president abbas had to recognize israel as the jewish homeland. the middle east, he said, was changing, and so were the security guarantees israel would need. >> we have had the rise of iran and its proxies' and the rise of missile warfare. soak a peace agreement must take into account security arrangements -- so a peace agreement must take into account security arrangements against this real threat. >> at the heart of the issue will be the borders of an independent palestine. jewish settlements would most likely be removed from land allocated to the new state. the political future of jerusalem, where both sides want a capital, and justice for the palestinian refugee families who lost their homes when israel was created in 1948. in a few jewish settlements in the occupied west bank, building has restarted, despite an official construction freeze. it is a response to the killing of four settlers by, saw this week. israel says the freeze stops at the end of this month. palestinian president says that if it is not extended, he will walk away from th

that they can walk away and many in fact see that as a ploy in their negotiations prime minister netanyahu will actually expect that he needs to students to stand firm for what he believes in. a tactic and as a strategy for his own negotiations so we expect the prime minister to stay firm with his expectation that the palestinians will stay and negotiate what we do know that the main point being made by the israeli side in all this is that making the palestinians of having wasted this ten month construction for instance peace talks really resumed some nine months into the holes walls distance the amount of public . that israel has a hollow point tell miss. well you know when i hear these accusations and these accusations come from all sides i hear politics as usual you can always justify any point but the fact is both sides want to reach an agreement and for that reason i think both an attorney you know and double was and will find a way to overcome their differences and today and this settlement freeze i think will be an opportunity for these leaders to show that they can overcome and the

israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and mahmoud abbas will be meeting. both the u.s. and the u.n. have urged benjamin netanyahu to extend the stock beyond the deadline. -- extend a stop. >> construction work on new homes is already underway. recent reports suggest benjamin netanyahu has no plans to freeze all settlement building over the long term. local media are anticipating a new construction boma. >> there is no need for a partial freeze. there is no need for a total freeze. there is enough room for everyone to live peacefully. >> but not all israelis agree. some are critical of the inconsistent stance of the government. >> the settlers can do without approval of the government, and this is an issue note -- is an issue. >> the palestinians are ordering a total freeze on construction. >> edd least 13 people and killed in a plane crash in venezuela. -- at least 13 people. it was going to a resort area. there were 51 passengers and crew on board the state-run airline. officials say 43 people survived the crash. fresh classes in kashmir have claimed at least 16 lives

benjamin netanyahu and mahmoud abbas will hold face-to-face talks on thursday. netanyahu will meet obama for preliminary talks on issues such as the status of jerusalem and jewish building of settlements on the west bank's. later, he met a palestinian leader. jordan's king and egypt ruler were also attending. the talks came after hamas gunmen shot dead four jewish settlers. funerals for the victims were held earlier wednesday. >>> the u.s. and israeli leaders condemned the killings but said they would not derail the talks in washington. >> the message should go out to hamas and everybody else who is taking credit for these heinous crimes that this is not going to stop us from not only ensuring that a secure israel but also securing a longer lasting peace in which people throughout the region can take a different course. >> i think that the president's statement as an expression of our desire to fight against this terror, and the talks we had, which werendeed open, oductive, serious in the quest for peace, also centered around the need to have security arrangemen

benjamin netanyahu and mahmoud abbas will hold face-to-face talks on thursday. netanyahu will meet obama for preliminary talks on issues such as the status of jerusalem and jewish building of settlements on the west bank's. later, he met a palestinian leader. jordan's king and egypt ruler were also attending. the talks came after hamas gunmen shot dead four jewish settlers. funerals for the victims were held earlier wednesday. >>> the u.s. and israeli leaders condemned the killings but said they would not derail the talks in washington. >> the message should go out to hamas and everybody else who is taking credit for these heinous crimes that this is not going to stop us from not only ensuring that a secure israel but also securing a longer lasting peace in which people throughout the region can take a different course. >> i think that the president's statement as an expression of our desire to fight against this terror, and the talks we had, which were indeed open, productive, serious in the quest for peace, also centered around the need to have security arrang

netting and -- netanyahu has to work with his own coalition government, but time is running out. the settlement issue is one of many will have to deal with if they go on. >> thank you very much. the human rights council in geneva is debating a report into an attack by israeli commandos on a gaza-bound a flotilla last may. the raid may have broken international law. israel has rejected the findings as biased. there is another flotilla made up of jewish activists who said it want to express their support nearly 10 days after afghanistan's parliamentary election the country's electoral commission has ordered a partial recount. the commission said it had evidence of election fraud in seven of the 34 provinces. there were more than 3000 complaints of irregularities. a recount could further delay the results of the election, which had been expected at the end of october. here in germany opposition parties say they will fight the government's new population of welfare benefits. it would raise support for the long-term unemployed by five heroes of month, which the opposition says is to s

no i don't think so in the recent jeffrey goldberg piece in the atlantic for trade benjamin netanyahu and barack both the prime minister and the defense minister of israel as not actually concerned that iran is an existential threat to israel not concerned that even if they did have nuclear weapons that they would launch some sort of first strike. netanyahu said that he was concerned that hezbollah might be emboldened worried that we remember so well from the bush years and and fretted that perhaps they were being a brain drain he called it of talented israelis to who might want to move to the united states to live instead of israel this is the existential threat to israel that american boys are supposed to die in another war for and your your other guest is absolutely correct that we have fifty thousand combat forces in iraq right now along with one hundred thousand or so contractors some of the mercenaries some not all of them within range of iranian retaliation and you know when it comes. to any israeli unilateral attack. the iranians i think correctly as well as probably anyone in

-- benjamin netanyahu and mahmoud abbas met in washington. the two sides will meet again later this month. jeremy is in the washington. >> the motorcades brought them into the state department in washington for the latest installment in what has turned into a 20-year middle eastern saga of lost hope. in the public part of the meeting, they said negotiations to make peace one year from now would not be easy. plan was tons' always be in the room. the top diplomats said there was no time to lose. >> the core issue of the center of these negotiations, territory security, jerusalem, refugees settlements, and others, will get no easier if we wait. they will not resolve themselves. >> netanyahu said president abbas would have to recognize israel as the jewish homeland. he said the middle east was changing and so were the security guarantees israel would need. >> we have had the rise of i ran and it proxy's. a peace agreement must take into account security arrangements against these real threats. >> the prospect of new buildings for jews in the occu

she spoke twice by phone sunday to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. netanyahu imposed the moratorium last november to try to get palestinians back to the bargaining table. he says he wants to continue negotiations but rejecting calls by president obama and palestinian leaders to extend the ban. palestinians insist construction makes it impossible for them to create a viable, independent state. >> palestinians have to choose between sitting down and talking peace with us and turning their backs on us. and not having -- missing yet another historic opportunity to reach peace. >> reporter: abbas plans to take the issue to a meeting of arab states next week. and under netanyahu, the number of housing units put up in the west bank is at its lowest level since the 1970s. terrell? >> tara mergener in washington for us this morning, thank you. >>> rescue crews in chile still hope to begin pulling the 33 trapped miners to safety beginning in november. the first of three rescue capsules arrived there over the weekend. the miners will be pulled to the surface on

prime minister benjamin netanyahu and palestinian authority leader abbas spoke. before the meeting, they were joined by secretary of state hillary clinton and george mitchell for a half-hour news conference. [applause] >> good morning. i want to thank all of you for joining us today. we are here to launch negotiations to settle the israeli-palestinian conflict. i note that getting everyone at this table was not easy. we understand the suspicion and skepticism that so many feel, born out of years of conflict and frustrated and hope. a tragic act of terror on tuesday and the terrorist shooting yesterday or additional reminders of the human cost of this conflict. but by being here today, you each have taken an important step towards freeing your people from the shackles of a history we cannot change. moving towards a future of peace and dignity that all you can create. so thank you. thank you for your courage and your commitment. i also want to recognize the support of egypt and jordan, which have long been crucial partners for peace. we appreciate the support of th

netanyahu says he cannot do that. he and president obama and hillary clinton have been engaged in the last few weeks in some frantic behind-the-scenes arm-twisting. it remains to be seen if that hurdle can be overcome today. revinita? >> you mentioned this is a two-day meeting. what happens on day two if that happens on day one? >> reporter: today, we rush back to jerusalem, where hillary clinton will arrive later tonight, with a second round of talks with the same characters at the table.probably probably hosted in prime minister netanyahu's jerusalem home. president abbas rejoining them for the first time in almost two years, since the last round of negotiations fell apart. and hopefully by then, the sides will be able to get into the meaty issues. the final borders, what happens to jerusalem, what happens to refugees. difficult, difficult issues. she can start getting both sides to talk about those tomorrow at the very latest. vinita? >> some questions that have been asked for a very long time. simon mcgregor-wood

palestinian president abbas said he'll walk out of talks if israeli prime minister netanyahu does not extend the sellment freze. the president warned israelis, don't delay. more blood will be shed. and mr. obama demanded change from many nations in the hall that hve slammed the jewish is it the for decades. some even back -- >> those who long to see an independent palestine, let's also stop trying to tear down israel. >> reporter: in part to pressure israel's most dangerousenemy,

but it clearly is something that is on prime minister netanyahu's mind.viously on our mind also. >> larry: thanks, madeleine, always good seeing you. you look great. >> thank you, good to be with you, larry. >> larry: former secretary of state madeleine al bright. ari fleisher and jamie rubin are next. don't go away. this site has a should i try priceline instead? >> no it's a sale. nothing beats a sale! wrong move! you. you can save up to half off that sale when you name your own price on priceline. but this one's a deal...trust me. it's only pretending to be a deal. here, bid $79. got it. wow! you win this time good twin! there's no disguising the real deal. >> larry: two more distinguished guests. ari fleisher served as white house press for president george w. bush. jamie rubin was united states assistant secretary of state and chief state department spokesman during the clinton administration. all right, ari, are you hopeful about all of this? >> sure, larry, i think you always start these exercising being hopeful. as americans, we want to be hopeful