US Middle East peace envoy Indyk resigns

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - US Middle East peace envoy Martin Indyk has resigned following the collapse of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, a US official said on Friday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide a reason for Indyk's departure, which had been widely expected after the two sides failed to meet their goal of reaching a comprehensive peace agreement this spring.

Mr Indyk will return to the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington, the US official said.

Mr Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel, was appointed by Secretary of State John Kerry as his envoy to peace negotiations that were launched last July.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspended the talks on April 24 after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas forged an unexpected unity pact with rival Islamist group Hamas.

In his first public comments on the negotiations, Mr Indyk said in May that neither side had had the stomach to make the necessary compromises, and singled out Jewish settlement building on occupied territory as a particular obstacle.

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