The Israeli newspaper Haaretz is reporting Egypt and Saudi Arabia have given the US a two-year deadline for an agreement on brokering Israeli-Palestinian peace. The two countries have spearheaded the Arab League peace plan that offers Israel normalized relations in return for its full withdrawal from the Occupied Territories and the creation of a Palestinian state there. Despite his pledge to pursue a peace deal, President Obama has refused to fully endorse the Arab offer, only its provision regarding Arab recognition of Israel. On Tuesday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said he would welcome a change in the US position.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh: “There is information that the American representative, Mitchell, will make Israel responsible for the war in Gaza and building settlements. This is a new balance in the American stand.”

A full withdrawal from the Occupied Territories would require the dismantling of large Israeli settlements that carve up the West Bank. But President Obama has only called on Israel to meet its pledge to halt the settlements’ growth. The Arab insistence on a two-year deadline is seen as a move to encourage Obama to take meaningful steps to pressure the Israeli government, including the withholding of billions in US aid.