Obama envoy says Palestine state only option

By Mohammed Assadi

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - U.S. envoy George Mitchell assured the Palestinians on Wednesday of Washington's commitment to a state of their own, calling its establishment the only viable solution to their conflict with Israel.

Mitchell, speaking after talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, urged both sides to meet their obligations under a 2003 peace "road map" that commits Israel to halting settlement expansion and Palestinians to reining in militants.

U.S. President Barack Obama had made it clear "the only viable resolution to this conflict is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states," Mitchell said.

His comments highlighted a rare rift in U.S.-Israeli relations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly endorsed Palestinian statehood and has said construction will continue in existing settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Reiterating remarks he made in talks with Israeli leaders on Tuesday, Mitchell said in the West Bank city of Ramallah that Washington was seeking "prompt resumption and early conclusion" of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

"We are now engaged in serious discussions with Israelis, Palestinians and other regional partners to support this effort," he added, before continuing the latest leg of his mission on a tour taking him to Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.

Speaking later after meeting Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni, Mitchell said Washington sought "a comprehensive regional peace which not only involves Israel and the Palestinians, but Syrians, the Lebanese and all the surrounding countries."

Obama continued to press the issue on Wednesday from Washington. Ahead of Mitchell's scheduled visit to Amman on Thursday, Obama called Jordan's King Abdullah to discuss his recent trip to Riyadh and Cairo, where he issued his call for a new U.S. relationship with the Muslim world.