Hillarysworld

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Friday called for the resumption of Middle East peace negotiations, saying there is "hunger for a resolution."

Clinton said the United States is working with Israeli and Palestinian authorities, as well as Arab states to relaunch the talks "as soon as possible and without preconditions."

Clinton made the remarks after meeting Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Judeh, saying the United States is to renew its commitment and increase efforts in persuading the parties to return to the talks.

The two called for the Palestinian side and Israel to tackle the thorny issues of borders and status of Jerusalem first, saying resolving the two issues would automatically resolve the dispute over Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, a major obstacle in the peace process.

The peace talks stopped when Israel launched a military offensive into the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and efforts to restart them have failed due to the continuation of Jewish settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Palestinian National Authority has said it won't return to talks unless Israel stops settlement construction and offer other guarantees.

Several Arab states, including Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have been exerting pressure on the Palestinians to respond to U.S. push for resumption of talks.

Apart from talks with her Jordanian counterpart, whose country is one of the only two Arab countries with diplomatic ties to Israel, Clinton is hosting a working lunch at noon with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Ali Aboul Gheit, and that country's intelligence chief Omar Mahmoud Soliman, both key mediators of the peace talks. Egypt is the other Arab country with diplomatic ties to Israel.

On Sunday, The United States is sending its Middle East envoy George Mitchell to Paris and Brussels for negotiations to relaunch the talks, State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley said Thursday.

Mitchell is to represent the United States in a Middle East quartet meeting in Brussels. He is scheduled to visit the Middle East later this month. The quartet include the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States. It launched a roadmap for peace in 2003, calling for a Palestinian state living alongside Israel.