US President Barack Obama has urged acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas to engage in direct talks with Israel, the White House says.

In a telephone conversation on Tuesday, President Obama urged Abbas to make a quick transition from indirect talks to face to face negotiations, DPA reported citing a White House statement.

The two "discussed the need for both parties to negotiate seriously and in good faith, and to move from proximity talks to direct negotiations as soon as possible in order to reach an agreement on permanent status issues," the statement said.

The report came after the Palestinian Authority on Sunday announced it has resumed indirect negotiations with Israel, brokered by US special envoy George Mitchell.

The peace process has been overshadowed by Tel Aviv’s plans to build new settlements in East al-Quds (Jerusalem), which was occupied by Israel in 1967 and was later annexed.

(Press TV)