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Amid reminders of the grave stakes at hand, President Obama expressed optimism on Wednesday after embarking upon a new effort to reinvigorate talks to achieve a comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East.

"As I've said many times, our goal is a two-state solution that ends the conflict and ensures the rights and security of both Israelis and Palestinians," Obama said, appearing in the Rose Garden alongside Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and special Middle East envoy George Mitchell. "We've always made it clear that the only path to lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians is direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Tomorrow, after nearly two years, the parties will relaunch those direct talks."

Earlier in the day, Obama held one-on-one White House meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah II, and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Next on Obama's agenda was a working dinner at the White House with Clinton, the quartet of foreign leaders, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

On Wednesday, the peace talks that stymied Obama's five immediate predecessors and have been stalled for 20 months will move to the State Department, where the Israeli and Palestinian leaders will sit down with Clinton before transitioning into direct, bilateral talks.

Calling the reinstatement of peace talks a "moment of opportunity that must be seized," Obama said that there is wide support for a two-state solution among the Israeli and Palestinian populations.

The president said that while the United States could help create an environment conducive to productive negotiations, a solution would ultimately come from the Israeli and Palestinian leadership, as well as neighboring countries in the region, whom Obama criticized without naming for not doing enough to enact the peace settlement they espouse to support.

"We are under no illusions-passions run deep," Obama added. "Years of mistrust will not disappear overnight."

Indeed, the stakes of the peace talks were exemplified earlier in the day on Wednesday, as Obama appeared in front of cameras alongside Netanyahu to condemn the shootings by Hamas gunmen on Tuesday night that left two Israeli settlers dead near the West Bank city of Hebron.

"The tragedy that we saw yesterday where people were gunned down on the street by terrorists who are purposely trying to undermine these talks is an example of what we're up against," Obama said. "But I want everybody to be very clear: The United States is going to be unwavering in its support of Israel's security and we are going to push back against these kinds of terrorist activities."

Netanyahu condemned the shootings by people whom he said had "no respect for human life and trample human rights into the dust and butcher everything that they oppose."

The Israeli Prime Minister added that ensuring Israel's security was a "fundamental element" to the peace process.