US President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that it is important to give both Israelis and Palestinians hope, as the current round of violence between the two sides shows no sign of letting up.
Obama's comments came as US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that increased Israeli settlement building is not helping to ease tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, according to Reuters.
"I don't think that the situation is helped by additional settlement construction and building," Kerry told a House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee at a hearing on the State Department's annual budget request, Reuters reported.
"I think that I know we need to see measures taken on both sides to indicate a readiness and willingness to try to proceed forward and reduce the violence," Kerry said.