Former minister Yosi Beilin called on US Middle East Evnoy, former Sentator George Mitchell, to consider resigning from his post, according to Army radio.

Beilin said he knows the senator well and it is because of Mitchell's integrity that he needs to consider leaving. "There is a clear failure of a (US) president who tried to affect change and after a year should admit failure. [Mitchell] is his envoy and he should consider whether someone else needs to take his place," Beilin was quoted as saying.

In a speech on Thursday at at Colby College in Maine, Senator Mitchel said "There's a sense of urgency, a sense of involvement and commitment" on the part of the president.

Mitchell acknowledged setbacks in the process, including a United Nations report that accused Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes last winter, compiled by the Goldstone Commission that investigated the IDF's Operation Cast Lead.

"We continue in our efforts, notwithstanding that" report, Mitchell said. He noted that the United States has taken the position that the report is "one sided and deeply flawed."