Leaders on both sides acknowledged the significance of Obama's remarks, but offered measured responses on what they would mean.
Israel's government issued a statement saying that it hoped the speech would "indeed lead to a new period of reconciliation between the Arab and Muslim world and Israel."
The Palestinian Authority, based in the West Bank, welcomed the president's "readiness for partnership, listening, confidence building and ending tensions." Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for the Hamas militant group, which controls the Gaza Strip and refuses to recognize Israel, said he heard in "Obama's calm tone" the signal of a fresh American approach.
Most reaction, however, underscored the intractable nature of the conflict. Officials and commentators on each side applauded parts of Obama's speech that reinforced their respective positions while pointedly rejecting parts that clashed with their views.
Israelis welcomed his condemnation of Holocaust denial. They said he was right to tell Arab states that their own peace initiative was only "an important beginning," an implication that it needs modification to prevent millions of returning Palestinians from overwhelming the Jewish state. A key issue for Palestinians has been their assertion of a "right of return" to ancestors' homes in Israel.
But Israelis cringed when Obama associated the Palestinian struggle with the U.S. civil rights movement, questioned the "legitimacy" of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and referred to Israel as a "Jewish homeland" rather than a Jewish state. Both sides took offense at what they called his portrayal of their suffering as morally equivalent.
"He drew a shocking parallel between the elimination of Europe's Jews and the suffering that the Arabs of Israel brought upon themselves when they declared war against Israel," said Arieh Eldad, a right-wing member of Israel's parliament.
Palestinians faulted the speech as "lacking in practical policies and steps to support Palestinian sovereignty on our land," as Barhoum put it. Israeli officials, on the other hand, were relieved by their absence.
U.S. officials are expected to outline those policies in the weeks ahead.
"We're still very much in an embryonic stage with it, but trying to develop the issues and bring as many people into the tent, to bring about a comprehensive and long-lasting solution," said Gen. James L. Jones Jr., Obama's national security advisor.
