President Donald Trump welcomes Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 3, 2017.
"There's such hatred, but hopefully there won't be such hatred for very long", Trump said after meeting with Abbas in the Roosevelt Room.
"Over my lifetime, I've heard the toughest deal to make is peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians".
Abbas pointed toward a likely partnership while crediting Trump's "great negotiating ability".
President Trump is the latest in a long line of USA presidents who have tackled the Israel-Palestine peace process early in their first term, and while most quickly lost interest, Trump vowed to get the peace deal done with "whatever is necessary".
Trump called on Palestinians to renounce violence and to unite both Fatah and Hamas to negotiate with Israel. He also added that a peace deal based on a two-state solution would aid the fight against terrorism.
Trump also hinted at having the Oslo Accords, which Abbas signed onto as the Palestinian negotiator in 1993, as a blueprint for the so-called "final and most important peace agreement".
Abbas told Trump: "I look much forward to working with you in order to come to that historical agreement, historic deal to bring about peace".
"Let's see if we can find a solution".
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Speaking through a translator, Abbas echoed Trump's upbeat tone, saying: "We believe that we can.be true partners to you to bring about a historic peace under your stewardship".
In their first face-to-face meeting, Mr Trump pressed Palestinian leaders to "speak in a unified voice against incitement" to violence against Israelis but he stopped short of explicitly recommitting his administration to a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict, a longstanding bedrock of U.S. policy.
Trump ignored a question from a reporter about whether he still plans to move the USA embassy to Jerusalem.
Abbas had earlier reiterated a longstanding demand for East Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian state.
Trump has also spoken out, as previous American presidents have, against continued Israeli settlements that are colonising the West Bank. "I like the one that both parties like", Trump said at the time.
The president made the comment during a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on February 15 made his first visit to the White House since Trump became president.
During lunch with Abbas, Trump raised concerns about Palestinian payments to terrorists and their family members.
Trump said any agreement can not be imposed by the United States, "or by any other nation", but said he hopes to create peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Abbas was the signatory for the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and the agreement established the PA as a self-government body in 1994.
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