Senior US Envoy Pushes for Mideast Peace

A senior U.S. envoy pushed for the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, during a visit to the Middle East on Thursday.

U.S. National Security Advisor James Jones met separately with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Jones told President Abbas in Ramallah that the United States is determined to find a way to restart negotiations between both sides.

Prime Minister Netanyahu's office said the Israeli leader and Jones met in Jerusalem and discussed advancing the peace process with the Palestinians and regional security threats.

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the resumption of peace talks without pre-conditions.  But Palestinians are demanding that Israel halt all settlement activity before negotiations can restart.