US Secretary of State John Kerry began a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Tuesday by describing a wave of Palestinian knife and car ramming attacks as terrorism that must be condemned.
During that visit, US President Barack Obama said the goal was to discuss ways to "lower the temperature between Israelis and Palestinians, how we can get back on a path towards peace, and how we can make sure that legitimate Palestinian aspirations are met through a political process, even as we make sure that Israel is able to secure itself."
The officials saw the main purpose of Kerry's visit as putting pressure on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to stop the wave of violence and return to the negotiating table with Israel.
Fayez Abu Aiatah, a spokesman for Abbas's Fatah faction, said that the PA leadership has told Kerry, and other parties that a real political solution for the Palestinian issue was the only way to achieve calm.