US envoy begins Mideast peace push

US ENVOY George Mitchell began a new swing through the Mideast yesterday with a call for a rapid resumption of peace talks, as the White House tried to push Israel to halt settlement construction in the West Bank.

Mitchell met with Israel’s defence minister, who helps oversee settlement policy, and was slated to hold talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu has refused to accept US calls to support the creation of a Palestinian state and freeze settlement construction on captured lands claimed by the Palestinians. That has led to the most public disagreement between Israel and the US in a decade.