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President Obama's special envoy to the Middle East, former Sen. George Mitchell, told Charlie Rose Jan. 8 that he is confident that Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations can be completed within two years, noting the steps Israel has taken in recent months to move the process forward.

Israel agreed to a 10-month moratorium in November 2009; during this time, there will be no construction in new settlements in the West Bank.

"Ten months [is] far less than what was requested, but more significant than any action taken by any previous government of Israel for the 40 years that settlement enterprise has existed," Mitchell told Charlie Rose during his appearance on the Charlie Rose program. "Ten months of no new starts in the West Bank -- less than what we asked, much, much greater than any proper government has done. And we think over time it's going to make a significant difference on the ground."

Mitchell helped broker the Belfast Agreement between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland in 1998. And he seemed to reflect those years of experience during his interview with Rose; he appeared confident that the Israelis and the Palestinians would reach an agreement after the moratorium ends.

The moratorium is one of three points Mitchell insists on covering during peace agreements: Engage the two parties, which the Palestinians will not do without a settlement freeze; a guarantee of security for both the Israelis and the Palestinians; and encouraging economic growth and building institutions that will eventually lead to the Palestinians' own stable governance.

"The harder part is getting started than getting finished," Mitchell told Rose. "The moratorium is significant. They've reduced roadblocks. They've reduced some checkpoints. They're encouraging economic growth."

Ori Nir, spokesperson for the Middle East coexistence group Peace Now, praised the moratorium and considers it a crucial stepping stone to establishing the borders of a future Palestinian state.

"[The Palestinians] feel like sometimes that two people discussing their share of a pizza pie, while one of the parties keeps eating at the pie," Nir told The Jewish State in a phone interview Jan. 12. "I think that one of the intentions of the moratorium is to create some time without creating new sites on the ground in the West Bank -- space created particularly for Palestinians to negotiate over borders, not under duress or the pressure of the West Bank land being eaten up more and more."

However, Gary Ratner, national executive director of the Zionist Organization of America, remains skeptical that the moratorium will progress into a permanent peace agreement.

"After the 10 months is up, they'll go back to construction -- I hope Bibi lives up to his word," Ratner told The Jewish State in a phone interview Jan. 12. "As he himself has said, it's time to return to the negotiating table and we can discuss all of this; the PA says we should start where Olmert left off, and Netanyahu says that we're going to start at the beginning."

Additionally, Ratner explained that negotiations do not put a strong focus on the Hamas-controlled Gaza, where shelling has continued into Israel and where captured soldier Gilad Schalit is still being held.

"They leave Gaza out of the equation," Ratner said. "It's sitting there doing nothing, and now the shelling started again."

"We think it's extremely unrealistic to expect a resolution in the next two years and that it's not really possible, given the division between Gaza and Judea and Samaria," said Dan Pollak, co-director of government relations for the ZOA. "With Hamas in control in Gaza, and the Palestinian Authority not living up to any of its previous agreements, ZOA's position is that it would be fool hearted to enter into a new agreement with Israel, and we think that it's extremely unlikely that that'll happen in the next two years."

Despite the prevalence of such doubts, Mitchell told Rose that he believes the Palestinians have "moved quite a way" from violence, but they still have not made enough progress to satisfy the Israelis and make them feel secure in entering peace negotiations.

"Until the last couple of years, the principle problem... was the absence of security and the complete absence of any effort to restrain those who were engaged in violence against Israelis," Mitchell told Rose. "That was the Israelis' angle -- we don't have a partner, they're not doing anything about the terrorists and the violence. You now have a government that is doing something very actively, aggressively, and successfully, as even the Israelis acknowledged," although Mitchell did not specify what steps the Palestinians have taken to crack down on terrorists and violence in the West Bank.

"Abbas and [PA Prime Minister Salam] Fayyad recently honored a suicide bomber by naming a public square after her," Ratner said. "I don't see how Fayyad... has enough political base among the Palestinians where any policy he wants to pursue would gain any support. Actions speak louder than words to me, and I haven't seen actions on their part that prove that they want peace."

However, Nir said that the Palestinian public is in favor of creating a Palestinian state out of the West Bank and living in peace -- along with most Israelis.

"If you look at the Israeli and Palestinian public, polls show time after time that there is an overall majority in support of these kinds of formulas, the [former President Bill] Clinton parameters which talk about two states living side by side in peace and security," Nir said. "When the Clinton parameters are presented to the Israeli and Palestinian public, for the most part, you get robust majorities in support of them. With this, plus the U.S. position, there is enough for negotiations to be jumpstarted and to gain momentum and happen at a swift enough pace to pick up and be concluded within two years."