There was no sign, in public comments at a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the envoy, George Mitchell, of any progress toward a formula that could avert a threatened Palestinian walkout over settlement building.
Mitchell said US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had asked him to deliver a message to Israelis and Palestinians assuring them of their commitment to achieving comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
"We knew this would be a road with many bumps — and there have been many bumps, and that continues to this day," Mitchell said in a video released by Israel's Government Press Office of comments he made at the meeting.
"But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace, with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, the Palestinians and for all the people in the region."
Peace talks that began on Sept. 2 were plunged into crisis after a 10-month moratorium on new housing construction in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank expired Monday.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to quit the negotiations unless the measure is extended, but has put off a decision until an Arab League forum discusses the issue on Oct. 4.
Netanyahu, whose governing coalition is dominated by pro-settler parties including his own right-wing Likud, had rebuffed calls by Obama and other foreign leaders to extend the partial freeze.
"I am committed and the government is committed to make an effort to reach a peace agreement that will preserve the security and vital interests of the state of Israel," Netanyahu said, echoing remarks he made a day earlier.
"We are committed to following this path. I hope the good talks that I began with (Abbas) will continue without interruption so that we can try to achieve this goal," the Israeli leader said.
Mitchell is due to see Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday.
Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the Palestinian negotiating team, said on Voice of Palestine radio that "Israel alone will shoulder the responsibility for the collapse" of the peace process if it does not halt the construction in settlements.
Failure to keep peace talks alive would be be a major political embarrassment for Obama.
Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she would leave for the Middle East soon. "I'm going to the Middle East tonight and and I'll meet George Mitchell when I land tomorrow," Ashton told Reuters in an interview in Washington, adding that she also planned to meet Netanyahu and Abbas.
