US says keeps pushing for Mideast talks to continue

The United States continues to press for Israeli-Palestinian direct peace talks to advance despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to allow a temporary freeze on settlement construction to expire, the US State Department said on Sunday.

"We keep pushing for the talks to continue," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley in a brief statement, adding that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had spoken to Netanyahu twice on Sunday. (Reuters)