US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Israel to broker negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Mr Kerry is expected to take part in the Yom Hashoah ceremony at Yad Vashem this morning followed by a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres in the afternoon.

Last night Mr Kerry met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah where the two agreed that the PA would cease unilateral measures at the United Nations for the next eight to 12 weeks. Mr Kerry has plans to speak to other Palestinian officials today.

Before arriving in Israel, Mr Kerry visited Istanbul where he met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The meeting reinforced efforts made by US President Barack Obama last month to strengthen ties between Israel and Turkey.

Mr Kerry said about Turkey and Israel: “We would like to see this relationship that is important to stability in the Middle East and critical to the peace process ... get back on track in its full measure.”