Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas also quickly agreed to meet again on September 14 and 15 in the Middle East and then roughly every two weeks thereafter, according to former Sen. George Mitchell, President Barack Obama's special envoy for Middle East Peace.

Both Abbas and Netanyahu condemned violence targeting innocent civilians in their region and pledged to work together to maintain security, Mitchell said.

They also reiterated their mutual support for the goal of "two states for two peoples" as part of a resolution of "all core issues" at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he added.

They agreed to work toward the completion of a framework agreement designed to bolster an "atmosphere of trust" and pave the way toward a comprehensive treaty and a "lasting peace," the special envoy said.

Mitchell's announcement came shortly after Netanyahu and Abbas sat down with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department.

Clinton, who sat at the middle of a U-shaped table flanked by Netanyahu, Abbas and other senior negotiators, said that the meeting was part of a move "towards a future of peace and dignity that only (Israelis and Palestinians) can create."

The United States "cannot and will not impose a solution," she declared, though she asserted that a two-state solution is the only viable resolution to the conflict.

The U.S. government will be an "active" partner in the renewed peace process, Clinton promised. It's in America's national security interest to find a solution to the conflict, she said.

CNN