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The softer tone comes after a public clash between President Barack Obama's administration and the right-leaning Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over calls for such a freeze.
"We have been working with the Israelis to deal with the issue of settlements, to ease the living conditions of Palestinians and create circumstances that can lead to the establishment of a viable Palestinian state," Clinton said.
"For the last few decades American administrations have held consistent positions on the settlement issue, and while we expect action from Israel, we recognize those decisions are politically challenging," she said.
Her tone was in sharp contrast to remarks Clinton gave in May in which she said Obama had made clear to Israel he wants no "natural growth exceptions" to his calls for a freeze in West Bank settlements.
But a senior State Department official told reporters later on the condition of anonymity that Clinton "didn't change the position on settlements at all... she was just outlining the positions of others in the process as well."
Clinton, saying progress "cannot be the responsibility of the United States or Israel alone," urged the Palestinians to further improve security and "act forcefully against incitement" to violence against Israelis.
"And Arab states have a responsibility to support the Palestinian Authority with words and deeds, to take steps to improve relations with Israel and to prepare their publics to embrace peace and accept Israel's place in the region," she said
She hailed a 2002 Saudi initiative that calls for Arab states to normalize ties with Israel in exchange for the Jewish state's withdrawal from lands occupied in 1967 and the creation of a Palestinian state.
"So we are asking those who embrace the proposal to take meaningful steps now," she said.
When Egypt and Jordan made peace with Israel, their leaders Anwar Sadat and King Hussein "crossed important thresholds and their boldness and vision mobilized peace constituencies in Israel and paved the way for lasting agreements," said the chief US diplomat.
Another senior State Department official who asked not to be named denied that the Obama administration was now turning to Arab states to take the first step to encourage Israel to drop its resistance to a settlement freeze.
"It's not about one, then the other, then the other. In fact both the secretary and (Middle East envoy George Mitchell) have rejected the idea that somebody has to move first," he said in reply to a reporter's question.
The Palestinians have said they will not meet Netanyahu until Israel halts all settlement activity. The presence of 280,000 Israelis in more than 100 settlements across the territory has been a major obstacle to peace efforts.
The international community considers all settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Israel seized in the 1967 Six Day war, to be illegal.
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"We have been working with the Israelis to deal with the issue of settlements, to ease the living conditions of Palestinians and create circumstances that can lead to the establishment of a viable Palestinian state," Clinton said.
"For the last few decades American administrations have held consistent positions on the settlement issue, and while we expect action from Israel, we recognize those decisions are politically challenging," she said.
Her tone was in sharp contrast to remarks Clinton gave in May in which she said Obama had made clear to Israel he wants no "natural growth exceptions" to his calls for a freeze in West Bank settlements.
But a senior State Department official told reporters later on the condition of anonymity that Clinton "didn't change the position on settlements at all... she was just outlining the positions of others in the process as well."
Clinton, saying progress "cannot be the responsibility of the United States or Israel alone," urged the Palestinians to further improve security and "act forcefully against incitement" to violence against Israelis.
"And Arab states have a responsibility to support the Palestinian Authority with words and deeds, to take steps to improve relations with Israel and to prepare their publics to embrace peace and accept Israel's place in the region," she said
She hailed a 2002 Saudi initiative that calls for Arab states to normalize ties with Israel in exchange for the Jewish state's withdrawal from lands occupied in 1967 and the creation of a Palestinian state.
"So we are asking those who embrace the proposal to take meaningful steps now," she said.
When Egypt and Jordan made peace with Israel, their leaders Anwar Sadat and King Hussein "crossed important thresholds and their boldness and vision mobilized peace constituencies in Israel and paved the way for lasting agreements," said the chief US diplomat.
Another senior State Department official who asked not to be named denied that the Obama administration was now turning to Arab states to take the first step to encourage Israel to drop its resistance to a settlement freeze.
"It's not about one, then the other, then the other. In fact both the secretary and (Middle East envoy George Mitchell) have rejected the idea that somebody has to move first," he said in reply to a reporter's question.
The Palestinians have said they will not meet Netanyahu until Israel halts all settlement activity. The presence of 280,000 Israelis in more than 100 settlements across the territory has been a major obstacle to peace efforts.
The international community considers all settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Israel seized in the 1967 Six Day war, to be illegal.
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