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US in new push for Mid-East peace US in new push for Mid-East peace
(about 5 hours later)
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the Middle East for talks aimed at unblocking the peace process. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as part of a new drive to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
She met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the United Arab Emirates before heading to Jerusalem to see Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. A senior Palestinian official said the talks in Abu Dhabi had yielded no breakthrough, with Mr Abbas reiterating the Palestinian position.
Speaking earlier to the BBC, Mrs Clinton said a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians remained a "high priority" for the United States. Palestinians say Israel must halt settlement building in the occupied territories ahead of negotiations.
The US remains committed to plans for a two-state solution, Mrs Clinton added. Mrs Clinton has now gone to Jerusalem for talks with the Israeli PM.
Before Mrs Clinton's arrival in the region, Mr Netanyahu said he hoped for a resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians as soon as possible. Before Mrs Clinton's arrival in the region, Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped for a resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians as soon as possible.
However, a key sticking point is Israel's refusal to freeze settlement building on the occupied West Bank. ANALYSIS By Jeremy Bowen, Middle East editor Making peace in the Middle East is a top foreign policy priority for President Obama, but in his first nine months in office he has had a crash course in the reasons why every attempt to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians has failed.
During their talks, Mr Abbas told Mrs Clinton that Palestinians would not agree to re-launch peace talks with Israel without a complete freeze of Jewish settlements, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said on Saturday. So far the Obama administration's Middle East peace initiative hasn't even managed to get the two sides around a table. More than that, attempts by President Abbas to co-operate with the Americans have damaged him at home.
'Little urgency' The rising tension has led to violence between Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem. No-one expected it to be quick or easy for President Obama in the Middle East. But he needs diplomatic progress, because the absence of hope in the region tends to lead to bloodshed.
Mrs Clinton's visit is part of a weekend of discussions to try to restart the stalled peace process. But chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said that during the talks in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, Mr Abbas told Mrs Clinton that Palestinians would not agree to re-launch peace talks with Israel without a complete freeze of Jewish settlement activity on the occupied West Bank.
"This is a high priority for not only our administration but for much of the world. It is one of the most common questions that I am asked," Mrs Clinton stressed. Mrs Clinton's Middle East trip comes 10 days after she reported back to President Barack Obama on the peace process, suggesting it was too early to launch fully-fledged talks.
BBC state department correspondent Kim Ghattas, who is travelling with Mrs Clinton, says these talks appear designed mostly to make sure things at least don't slide backwards.
Visits by the Middle East special envoy George Mitchell have so far failed to produce any tangible action by either side.
Speaking to the BBC, Mrs Clinton said a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians was key.
"This is a high priority for not only our administration but for much of the world. It is one of the most common questions that I am asked," Mrs Clinton said.
"The fact that I'm in the region... reinforces the seriousness with which we are approaching our desire to get the parties to begin a serious negotiation that can lead to a two-state solution.""The fact that I'm in the region... reinforces the seriousness with which we are approaching our desire to get the parties to begin a serious negotiation that can lead to a two-state solution."
The Palestinians had been emboldened by earlier American talk of the need for a settlement freeze, the BBC's Tim Franks in Jerusalem says.
Mrs Clinton has said that there is little point in the US wanting negotiations more than the parties themselves and our correspondent adds that there appears little sense of urgency from the Israelis and the Palestinians.