Barack Obama, Israel | featured news

When they first met last year, the two men had a cordial, pleasant exchange. They were all smiles.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged Israel and the Palestinians to "step back from the abyss," saying he expected good faith gestures from both sides in coming months as part of a bid to revive stalled peace efforts.

New US special envoy George Mitchell begins his Middle East tour in Cairo Tuesday with a brief from President Barack Obama to "engage vigorously" to achieve real progress in Arab-Israeli peace efforts.