Photo Gallery Low Expectations for Mideast Talks
A new round of Middle East peace talks begin Thursday in Washington. Expectations have never been so low, but that also presents an opportunity for progress between the Israelis and Palestinians. Here, US President Barack Obama arrives with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to make a statement in the East Room of the White House on Wednesday.
Obama with Netanyahu: Wednesday saw bilateral meetings between Obama and Middle East leaders. The new round of peace talks officially begins on Thursday.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is in a weak negotiating position, given that he only represents Palestinians living in the West Bank. The Gaza Strip is controlled by the militant Islamist group Hamas.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is also taking part in the peace talks, as is Jordan's King Abdullah II (not pictured).
A vineyard in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank: The issue of settlements in the West Bank is one of the main stumbling blocks in the peace talks. A moratorium on settlement construction is due to expire on Sept. 26, and Netanyahu shows no desire to extend it.
The final status of Jerusalem is another key issue. Here, a Muslim shopkeeper sits outside his store in Jersualem's Old City.
Supporters of Palestinian leftist factions take part in a protest in Gaza City against direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on Wednesday. Hopes of progress at the peace talks are low.
In the end, the talks are less about Israel and a future Palestinian state, and more about hammering out an Arab-Israeli axis to counter Iran that could, in a worst-case scenario, support Israeli military action against Iran.
