Clinton urges all parties to fully commit to Middle East talks

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday urged both the Israelis and Palestinians to commit to the Middle East peace talks.

"We are committed to the resumption of negotiations between the parties," Clinton said while holding a press conference with Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin.

"But our goal now is to make sure that we have the full commitment from both our Israeli and the Palestinian partners to this effort," she added.

Clinton also rejected the comment that the U.S.-Israeli relationship has hit a 35-year low after Israeli announced plans to build 1,600 new housing units at a Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

"I don't buy that", she said when asked about her opinion on the comment.

She expressed confidence that the U.S.-brokered indirect talks will start, saying "because there is just too much at stake for both the Palestinians and Israelis."

Israeli announcement of new settlements plan coincided with Vice President Joe Biden's visit to the Jewish state, overshadowing his effort on Middle East peace.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other U.S. senior officials referred to the incident as an "insult" to the United States.

Amid the ongoing discord, the Israeli-U.S. ties have gone from "unbreakable", according to Biden, to "perilous", as described by an unnamed senior U.S. official.