US Secretary of State John Kerry may use this week's US presidential trip to Israel to begin peace talks based on the 2002 Saudi peace initiative, reports in the Israeli media suggest.

Mr Kerry has already arrived in the country ahead of President Barack Obama who is due to arrive at 12.15pm today. However, his schedule is unknown, with a State Department spokesperson saying only that he "would have a meeting or two, in preparation for the president’s arrival”.

Israeli media reports suggest that while Mr Obama is on his 50-hour whistlestop tour, Mr Kerry will be working to put an Arab League peace initiative from 2002 back on the table.

The plan, proposed by Saudi Arabia in 2002, has at its heart a return to 1967 borders, but also includes a peace agreement between all Arab countries and Israel, and a solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees.