Israel and the Palestinians have reached an agreement which establishes the basis for resuming peace talks, the US Secretary of State has announced, according to BBC News.

John Kerry was speaking in Jordan, after meetings with both sides earlier. He gave no details of the agreement, but said initial talks would be held in Washington "in the next week or so".

The last round of direct talks broke down nearly three years ago over the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Kerry told reporters in Amman that the parties had "reached an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis."

"This is a significant and welcome step forward," he said, but stressed that it was still "in the process of being formalised".