Arab countries have endorsed the resumption of indirect peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Officials announced the endorsement following a meeting of the Arab League Saturday in Cairo, but also criticized Israel for not showing enough interest in finding solutions.
The endorsement follows Friday's announcement by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that so-called proximity talks would resume next week.
Clinton said U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell will meet separately with Israeli and Palestinian officials, with the goal of getting both sides to agree to direct negotiations.
The U.S. has called on Arab countries to help Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, saying Palestinians must have a state of their own.
Efforts to restart the peace process have been stalled since Israel announced new Jewish housing construction in East Jerusalem -- drawing criticism from U.S. officials and straining relations between the two allies.
Israel views East Jerusalem as part of its capital but Palestinians claim it as the capital of their future state.
Israeli spokesman Mark Regev said Israel sees the resumption of indirect talks as a way to help the peace process gain momentum.
Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said he would "give the talks a chance" but warned any expansion of Israeli settlements could torpedo the process.