security, absolutely committed. the palestinians, we want a palestinian state, a two-state solution. and others in the region, friend and foe alike, that the united states is in the region to stay, and we're not pulling out any time soon. >> john king, the one thing we didn't hear about today was settlements. why is that, and is that going to be discussed over the next couple of days? >> reporter: well, it will be discussed in the morning. you can be syrian, piers, when president obama goes to see mahmud abbas, his top complaint, i'm not coming back to the bargaining table until israel stops building settlements in the west bank. and i'm interested in senator mitchell's views on this. i was in two israeli settlements. there is construction on both settlements right now. not major expansions but new subdivisions. and the israeli government is debating whether to have the green light for a major new settlement on a parcel called e-1. and president obama did not mention settlements.