Leaders of the U.S., Palestine, Israel, Egypt and Jordan on Wednesday all called for achieving a Middle East peace agreement as Israeli-Palestinian direct talks are set to start in Washington on Thursday.

U.S. President Barack Obama (C) delivers a statement to the press after meeting with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan King Abdullah II, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, Sept. 1, 2010. [Zhang Jun/Xinhua]

"Do we have the wisdom and the courage to walk the path of peace?" U.S. President Barack Obama, whose administration mediated the start of the talks, challenged the leaders.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the other four leaders at the White House, Obama said he was cautiously hopeful that a peace agreement can be reached.

At the same occasion, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called on Israel to reach peace with the Palestinians, urging it to "totally halt settlement activity until the peace process comes to a conclusion."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country seeks a peace that will end the conflict once and for all and that will last for generations.

"President Abbas, you are my partner in peace. It is up to us to overcome the agonizing conflict between our peoples and to forge a new beginning," Netanyahu said, in an effort to reach out to Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

"But peace must also be defended against its enemies," he warned, stressing that a defensible peace requires security arrangements that can withstand the test of time and challenges. He invited Abbas to work with him to "change the future."