US Secretary of State John Kerry (left) held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, Jordan, on June 29th (Photo: voatiengviet.com)

(VOVworld) – Israeli and Palestinian leaders who wish to restart the dormant peace process will soon achieve a boost due to efforts by US Secretary of State John Kerry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday telephoned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and to say that Israel wishes to resume peace talks as soon as possible. This was the first exchange between the two leaders since the new Israeli government was sworn in on March 18^th. There has been almost no contact since the collapse of negotiations in 2010. Meanwhile, Palestinian Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the Palestinian Authority would like to see Kerry succeed in his efforts to revive peace talks with Israel. Erakat said that Kerry had informed the Palestinian leadership of his intention to return to the region. He added that Palestine was unaware of any new ideas or proposals that Kerry would bring with him during his coming visit to the region. However, he stressed that the main obstacles in the way of Kerry’s success were questions over Israel’s commitment to halting its program of settlement-building and the release of Palestinian prisoners.