The U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Israel should extend its moratorium on settlement activity, the White House said in a statement.
"The President and the Chancellor agreed that Israel should extend its moratorium on settlement activity and that the negotiations should press on until completed, and they agreed to stay in close touch at this critical juncture of the process," the statement said.
"The two leaders emphasized their support for the direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians and agreed that all sides should make every possible effort to sustain the talks," the White House said.
Obama and Merkel met as a part of their ongoing consultations and close partnership. Merkel supported Obama's "efforts to advance peace in the Middle East."
Israeli-Palestinian direct peace talks came to a halt in December 2008, when Israel launched an attack on the Gaza Strip in a bid to put an end to the firing of homemade rockets at southern Israel by Palestinian militants based in the enclave. The conflict left 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.
The Palestinians have cited ongoing Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, both occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, as the main obstacle to the peace process.
The Palestinian National Authority will ask the UN Security Council to reestablish the 1967 border with Israel if direct Mideast talks fall through, the Palestinian ambassador to Russia said earlier this month.
WASHINGTON, September 25 (RIA Novosti)
