JERUSALEM (Reuters/AFP) - US envoy George Mitchell and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could not agree on a Jewish settlement freeze in talks on Tuesday but said negotiations were advancing. We are making progress, Netanyahu told Israel army radio. I think we held a very important and productive talk and we will continue with the effort which, I believe, in the end will succeed in advancing peace and security between us and our Palestinian neighbours and the region in general. After more than two hours of talks with Netanyahu, Mitchell told reporters: We have made good progress. Mitchell said he looked forward to continuing discussions with Netanyahu and moving towards a comprehensive peace envisioned by US President Barack Obama. Neither Mitchell nor Netanyahu, who in his public comments has played down the dispute with Washington, mentioned settlements in their remarks to reporters. President (Barack) Obamas vision is of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East which includes peace between Israel and the Palestinians, between Syria and Israel, and between Israel and Lebanon, Mitchell said. Such a deal would also see a full normalisation of relations between Israel and all its neighbours in the region, said Mitchell, who played a key role in brokering the 1998 peace accord in Northern Ireland. Netanyahu is to hold talks today (Wednesday) with US national security adviser Jim Jones and other Middle East specialists sent to the region by the White House. Meanwhile, UN agencies called on Israel to allow construction materials into the Hamas-run Gaza Strip so that schools damaged in this years war can be rebuilt in time for the new academic year. We call on the government of Israel to urgently facilitate entry of construction materials and supplies for schools in the coming weeks, and to ensure that students, teachers and trainers can freely exit and enter Gaza to continue learning, they said in a statement. Today, one month before the start of the new school year, more than six months after the ceasefires, none of these schools have been properly rebuilt or rehabilitated due to lack of construction materials, the agencies said. The blockade has caused untold suffering to children in Gaza, who face another academic year in terrible conditions, said Philippe Lazzarini, the acting UN humanitarian coordinator in the Palestinian territories.