"It is absolutely critical to end all incitement, to end all violence and to find a road forward to build the possibility, which is not there today, for a larger process," he told journalists, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next to him as the two leaders began talks in Berlin.
"Today, we, you and I, can rekindle that process," Kerry told Netanyahu. "We've been at this, we know each other well, I believe we have the ability to make a difference."
"I believe people want this to de-escalate. So, let's go to work and see what we can do," said Kerry.
The two politicians, who have known each other for years, last held talks at the end of September in New York, just before the recent wave of violence erupted in Israel and the Palestinian territories on October 1.
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Netanyahu once again repeated his assertion that Abbas was to blame for fanning the violence.
"There is no question that this wave of attacks was driven directly by the incitement, the incitement of Hamas, the incitement of the Islamist movement in Israel and the incitement, I am sorry to say, from president Abbas and the Palestinian Authority," said Netanyahu.