The expectation is that the U.S. would act as the intermediary between the two sides.

An Israeli government spokesman welcomed the news, saying he hoped Israeli-Palestinian peace talks would resume soon.

For more, Daljit Dhaliwal interviews Daniel Levy, co-director of the Middle East Task Force of the New America Foundation.

What will it take to secure a long-lasting peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians?

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[Sidebar photo: MaanImages/POOL/Thaer Ganaim]

In fact, Obama said in an interview recently that the administration’s expectations were originally too high.

To discuss the situation in more detail, Martin Savidge speaks with Daniel Levy and Amjad Atallah, the co-directors of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation.

For more on the Obama and the World series click here.

Daljit Dhaliwal talks about the latest developments with Daniel Levy, co-director of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation. He says that many are waiting to see what — if anything — the U.S. has to offer in the way of a new U.S. proposal for the MidEast peace process.

Is the U.S. even-handed in dealing with Israel’s settlement policy?

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Daniel Levy, the co-director of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation, joins Daljit Dhaliwal to discuss the issue of settlements and whether or not there will be a freeze on settlement construction.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates spoke of tougher sanctions against Iran as Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak took a tougher approach, making clear that Israel has not ruled out military action.

The U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, traveled to Syria and Egypt.

Daniel Levy, the co-director of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation, joins Martin Savidge to discuss developments out of the Middle East.

Israel is reportedly open to the idea of a freeze on building new settlements in the West Bank for three to six months as part of a broader peace effort.

In the meantime, however, Israel has approved of 50 new housing units in the West Bank for settlers who were earlier evicted from an unauthorized outpost.

Daniel Levy, a senior fellow and the co-director of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the importance of the settlement issue to the peace process.

Meanwhile, a top Iranian nuclear official dismissed concerns over his country’s nuclear program as “politically motivated gestures by some countries.” But the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran needs to do much more to prove to the world that it is not developing a nuclear arsenal.

That possibility — a potential military dimension to Iran’s nuclear program — greatly worries Israel, which has hinted that it might attack Iran to disable its nuclear capabilities.

Daniel Levy, the co-director of the Middle East task force at the New America Foundation and a former adviser to the Israeli government, joins Martin Savidge to discuss Israel’s reaction to the Iranian election, Netanyahu’s endorsement of a Palestinian state and hopes for progress in the peace process.

Mitchell arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday after first stopping in North Africa. On the top of his agenda: Discussions about a two-state solution to bring peace between Palestinians and Israelis, something Prime Minister Netanyahu has so far refused to endorse.

Daniel Levy, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington D.C., joins Martin Savidge to discuss Mitchell’s time in North Africa, his support for a two-state solution and his scheduled meeting with Palestinian leaders on Friday.

On Tuesday, after many hours of contentious debate, Labor voted to join the coalition led by Netanyahu’s conservative Likud Party, bringing a centrist tone to the new government and a strong voice for continuing peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Daniel Levy, who has been an advisor to the Israeli government and is now director of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation, joins Martin Savidge to discuss how the coalition was formed, what concessions were made to Ehud Barak and where this leaves Tzipi Livni, the Kadima party leader.

One major issue facing Israel is Iran. The United Nations nuclear agency announced that its inspectors found that Iran has a third more enriched uranium than previously disclosed. Iran now has more than one ton of this uranium, which, officials say, is enough to make a nuclear bomb after further purification. Iran maintains that its nuclear aims are peaceful.

Daniel Levy, the director of the Middle East task force at the New America Foundation, joins Martin Savidge to discuss how Netanyahu’s rise will impact the peace process and Israel-U.S. relations, the kind of government he will be able to put together and how his government might deal with Iran.

The president’s special representative, George Mitchell, arrived in the region today, even as the cease-fire was strained by new violence between Israel and Hamas.

Daniel Levy, the director of the Middle East task force at the New America Foundation, joins Martin Savidge to discuss Mitchell’s mission in Gaza, the U.S. approach to Syria and the president’s decision to do an interview with Al-Arabiya.

Daniel Levy, the director of the Middle East Initiative of the New America Foundation, speaks about the lasting changes in the Middle East.

Egyptian and Palestinian negotiators met again on Wednesday in Cairo and came out of their meetings with the first public statements on a proposed cease-fire. While no Israeli representatives participated, an Egyptian official said they were “working with the Israeli side.”

At a brief news conference, a Hamas spokesman said his government still has reservations about the agreement.

Another spokesman for Hamas told reporters he was “optimistic now because there is no other choice for us.”

Daniel Levy, the director of the Middle East task force at the New America Foundation, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the Egyptian plan for a cease-fire, the Israeli military’s position and other prospects for bringing an end to the conflict.