US Mideast envoy meets Israeli leaders

US President, Barack Obama's Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, has begun a tour of the region and talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell talks during his  meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres, not pictured,  in Jerusalem, Tuesday, June 9, 2009. Mitchell began a new  swing through the Mideast on Tuesday 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.(AP Photo/Brian Hendler, pool)

Mitchell held an early morning meeting with Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, on Tuesday. Later he was expected to have meetings with other Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

The visit follows Obama's call in his Cairo speech last week for a halt to construction in Israeli settlements and endorsement of the creation of a Palestinian state.