"We will continue to work hard. We will work hard with both parties. We will work hard with international partners who care about achieving a sustainable peace that produces a two-state solution," Clinton said in a joint press conference with her Mexican counterpart at Guanajuato in Mexico.
I think that it is in everyone's interest that we keep our eye on what we're trying to achieve, which is that goal, she said. Acknowledging that this is a difficult issue, she said the Israelis and Palestinians do not lend themselves easily to compromise because both sides have very strong interests and concerns at work. "But just because, again, it's hard doesn't mean you stop trying. And the United States continues, along with international partners, to urge the parties to engage on each of these difficult issues, with the full knowledge that neither party is going to be happy with whatever the outcome is because you can’t get there unless you compromise in some area," she said.
The settlements in this context are not helpful, and we have made very clear our position on them, Clinton said. "But I don't think anyone believes that by walking away or throwing one's hands in the air, you can create a better situation. That is not going to happen," Clinton said. Earlier in the day, State Department spokesman, P J Crowley, said the United States believes that a framework agreement remains possible and necessary.
"It's why we are undeterred and we'll redouble our efforts in the coming days leading up to the Quartet meeting. We continue to engage the parties. We continue to work with them on the substance. We continue to try to find ways to narrow the gaps that do exist between the two. And it remains our objective to help the parties reach a framework agreement," he said. "We support current Palestinian efforts to create strong institutions that put the Palestinians in a position to govern, should the ongoing discussions lead to negotiations that lead to a framework agreement.
We have been key supporters of the work of President Abbas, of Prime Minister Fayyad, building up security forces, helping to build an economy, a viable economy within the Palestinian territories. And we're going to continue to do that," Crowley said. "We have also made clear that we believe strongly that the best and only way to fundamentally resolve the core issues, reach an agreement, and end the conflict once and for all is through a negotiation, not through unilateral statements, unilateral actions, by one side or the other," he noted.