U.S. President Barack Obama is urging Palestinians to drop their demand that Israel stop building settlements as a prerequisite to new peace talks.

Mr. Obama is visiting the Middle East this week.  After a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, he said that both sides need to “push through” their disagreements to achieve peace.

"Just as Israelis built a state in their homeland, Palestinians have a right to be a free people in their own land," President Obama said later at an appearance before Israeli University students, urging the audience to "look at the world through their eyes".

Not that Obama approves of the increased construction of Israeli Settlements in Palestinian areas, which he calls "counterproductive to the cause of peace" and that negotiations must lead to "two states for two peoples".