"Mr President, with you we have hope", Abbas told Trump in the Roosevelt room of the White House in the presence of a pool of reporters as he two leaders met for the first time.
In calling for an historic peace deal, Trump evoked previous White House meetings where Israel-Palestinian agreements had been formally reached.
Trump said he was committed to working with Israel and the Palestinians to reach an agreement but that any agreement could not be imposed by the United States.
Abbas gave Mr. Trump credit for trying, saying "you have the determination to be successful" and that they could be "historic partners".
Sounding a more optimistic tone, Trump also indicated that "there's a very, very good chance" that peace could be achieved between Israel and the Palestinians during his presidency, and stressed the need for "two willing parties", the Associated Press reported.
Abbas said Palestine was the only nation in the world living under occupation. "There is no reason there's not peace between Israel and the Palestinians - none whatsoever", he said.
Carrera won't know until Monday if homer was inside-the-park
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Trump urged Netanyahu to "hold back on settlements for a little bit", and while he said he'd "love" to see the USA embassy move to Jerusalem, he offered no indication it would happen soon.
In an Israel Independence Day message, U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said President Donald Trump's disruptive approach to governing coupled with the rise of the Islamic State presented new opportunities for regional peace.
Abbas also said "peace" would allow Israel an opportunity to normalize ties with the Arab states. "I will be a mediator, an arbitrator or a facilitator. and we will get this done". Reaffirming his commitment to a two-state solution, he called on Israel to recognise Palestinian statehood just as Palestinians recognise the state of Israel.
Following Trump, Abbas said in remarks translated from Arabic that the Palestinian leadership's "strategic option" is to pursue a two-state solution for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
And he again demanded Israel end its occupation "of our people and of our land". Republican senators have introduced legislation to cut off USA aid to the Palestinian Authority unless the Palestinians stop making such payments, and in recent days they had urged Trump to raise the matter during his meetings with Abbas.
With the worldwide focus on Syria's bloody civil war and the threat posed by Islamic State, Palestinian officials have been keen to raise their cause up the White House agenda. "It's been a long, long time and maybe we can end that journey and start a much better journey".
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