Former US ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk to oversee talks with Palestinians The US secretary of state John Kerry said on Monday that "tough" peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine will be faciliated by a former US ambassador to Israel. Kerry said that Martin Indyk, president Bill Clinton's ambassador to Israel, had a deep appreciation of the Middle East conflict and the "art" of American diplomacy in the region, and would now serve as the US "envoy" during the talks. "He knows what has worked, and he knows what hasn't worked," said Kerry, with Indyk stood by his side. And he knows how important it is to get this right. Kerry was speaking at the state department just hours before hosting an opening dinner between the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Washington, for the start of two days of talks. "Going forward, it is no secret that this is a difficult process - if it was easy it would have happened a long time ago," he said. It's no secret therefore that many difficult choices therefore lie ahead for the negotiators, and for the leaders, and as we seek reasonable compromises on tough, complicated, emotional and symbolic issues. He added: "I think 'reasonable compromises' has to be a keystone for all of this effort." Indyk, a fellow at the Brookings Institution policy think-tank, said the objective of the talks was eventually to allow for "two states, living side by side, in peace and security." He described the goal as a "daunting and humbling challenge." Indyk will be assisted by Frank Lowenstein, a former Senate foreign relations committee chief of staff who has aided Kerry in recent months in his concerted effort to persuade Palestine and Israel to get around the table, and Philip Gordon, a senior White House official. The agreement to rekindle the negotiation process was brokered on Sunday, after the Israeli cabinet agreed to release 104 long-term Palestinian prisoners. Kerry has made peace talks between Israel and Palestine a priority. Since February, he has flown to the region six times in search of a deal. At 8pm on Monday, the talks will begin with the Israeli justice minister, Tzipi Livni, and Palestinian chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, breaking the Ramadan fast at the private dinner, hosted by Kerry. Negotiations will resume on Tuesday, as early as 8am, and should be concluded by the early afternoon. The talks are expected to cover only preliminary discussions, focusing on the location, remit and scope of further negotiations. Many observers are doubtful whether the negotiations will result in the kind of agreement that has eluded the sides for years. The State Department has described the meeting as "an opportunity to develop a procedural workplan for how the parties can proceed with the negotiations in the coming months." Jen Psaki, the department's spokeswoman, said that both sides had agreed to a "timetable" of nine months, although she stressed it was "not a deadline." She added: "Time is not our ally, which is why we are working so hard on this issue now. As time passes, the situation on the ground becomes more complicated. Mistrust deepens and hardens, and the conflict becomes even harder to resolve. It allows vacuums to be filled by bad actors who want to undermine our efforts. The decision to release the Palestinian prisoners has proved highly controversial in Israel. The first of four groups of prisoners is expected to be released shortly before Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan next week. The rest will be freed at staged intervals over the next nine months, assuming progress is made in negotiations. Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, told his cabinet over the weekend: "This moment is not easy for me. It is not easy for the ministers. It is not easy especially for the families, the bereaved families, whose heart I understand. But there are moments in which tough decisions must be made for the good of the country and this is one of those moments. On Saturday he issued an "open letter to the citizens of Israel," which said "prime ministers from time to time make decisions that go against public opinion, when it is important for the country to do so." Erekat, the Palestinian chief negotiator, welcomed the Israeli decision, but said it was "an overdue step." Kerry referred to the "courage" of leaders in both Israel and Palestine overcoming reservations about the talks. He said of Netanyahu and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: "I salute both of them for their willingness to make difficult decisions and to advocate within their own countries and with their own leadership teams." Kerry then corrected himself: "Countries - the Palestinian territories," he said. It is the second time in the space of a week that Kerry has inadvertently referred to the Palestinian territory as a "country." Kerry said it had taken "many hours and many trips" to resume the talks between the negotiating teams, which were on flights to Washington. "I know the negotiations are going to be tough," he said. But I also know that the consequences of not trying could be worse. As Kerry and Indyk left the briefing, a reporter shouted: "What is different this time round?" Kerry turned, clasped his hands, and said: "We'll be talking to you going forward." The White House did not rule out the chief negotiators meet with president Barack Obama when in Washington. Obama was scheduled to discuss the talks with Kerry on Monday. "I am pleased that ambassador Martin Indyk will lead the US negotiating team as US special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations," Obama said in a statement. Ambassador Indyk brings unique experience and insight to this role, which will allow him to contribute immediately as the parties begin down the tough, but necessary, path of negotiations. Obama said that his visit to the Middle East in March "reinforced my belief that peace is both possible and necessary." He added: "The most difficult work of these negotiations is ahead, and I am hopeful that both the Israelis and Palestinians will approach these talks in good faith and with sustained focus and determination."