WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States is pushing for a two-state solution in the Middle East as in the best interests of both the Palestinians and Israelis, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday. We believe strongly in a two-state solution, Clinton told reporters after a dinner here Wednesday night with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, which she said was very productive and covered a full range of concerns. And we are committed to doing all that we can to work with Israelis and Palestinians and others, like Egypt, to try to push that forward, she said after a day in which she also met Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit. We have laid out some ideas that weve shared with both the Israelis and the Palestinians, she said before Abbas meets President Barack Obama later Thursday. This is a difficult, complex undertaking, but we are committed to it, and we think its in the best interests of both Palestinians and Israelis, Clinton said of the peace process. Clinton was speaking as she stood for the cameras with a group of human rights activists from Egypt. Meanwhile, the new US administration stepped up pressure on Israel to freeze settlement building in the occupied West Bank. Hillary Clinton reiterated Obamas stance that Israel must halt settlement building after the US president told visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month the practice must end. Obama wants to see a stop to settlements. Not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions, Clinton said. But Israel dismissed the blunt US call Thursday. Normal life will be allowed in settlements in the occupied West Bank, government spokesman Mark Regev said, using a euphemism for continuing construction to accommodate population growth. And he added the fate of settlements will be determined in final status negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and in the interim, normal life must be allowed to continue in those communities. Abbas will first meet one-on-one with Obama at 2000 GMT before an expanded meeting with other top Obama administration officials. We expect an active participation on the part of the United States that will translate into US pressure on Israel to stop its settlement activity and its provocations, and accept a two-state solution, Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP. The Palestinian Authority welcomed Clintons statements, noting that a complete settlement freeze is part of terms of the US-backed roadmap, an international plan at the heart of peace negotiations since 2003. I hope the United States will also establish a mechanism to obligate the Israeli government to respect its engagements under roadmap, namely a complete halt to settlement activity, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP. Abbas was also scheduled to meet with visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. Abul Gheit, whose country is a key regional mediator, said without new negotiations, the situation will worsen in this part of the world. The White House talks with Abbas come just 10 days after Obama met with Netanyahu.