George Mitchell, the top US envoy to the Middle East, met with the Israeli prime minister on Friday in a bid to advance Washington’s increasingly daunting goal of reigniting negotiations on the creation of a Palestinian state.

The US emissary held talks with Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of Israel’s predominantly right-wing government, in Jerusalem. The prime minister’s office described the two-hour meeting as “constructive” and said that it focused on “steps for advancing the peace process.” Mr Mitchell and his aides are due to meet with a team of the premier’s representatives on Saturday to continue the talks.