Obama calls Palestinian president Abbas

US President Barack Obama called Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on Monday and assured him that the peace process remains a top priority for him, Abbas's spokesman said.

"President Obama informed president Abbas about his meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and assured him that the Middle East peace process has been his top priority since he came to office," Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.

Abu Rudeina said the leaders also discussed "exploratory talks" that Palestinian and Israeli officials held in Amman earlier this year, as well as reconciliation efforts between Abbas's Fatah party and the rival Hamas movement.

Abbas "informed President Obama about the contents of a message he will send to the Israeli prime minister," Abu Rudeina added, without giving details.

The White House said that Obama told Abbas that all parties needed to reinforce efforts that produced a truce to end fighting between Israel and Gaza militants, and thanked the Palestinian leader for his contribution.

"The two leaders agreed on the necessity of the two-state solution, and President Obama noted that Jordan's efforts to foster direct discussions between Israel and the Palestinians are an important contribution to the cause of peace," a White House statement said.

Talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been frozen since September 2010, and the decades-old conflict has become overshadowed by the uprising in neighbouring Syria.

Negotiators from both sides held five rounds of "exploratory talks" in January under the sponsorship of Jordan and the Middle East peacemaking Quartet, with the aim of finding a way back to direct negotiations.

But the talks ended inconclusively, with the Palestinians accusing Israel of failing to present concrete proposals on borders and security as requested by the Quartet, which groups the US, UN, EU and Russian diplomats.

Many observers say there is no prospect for a breakthrough until after the US presidential election in November.