Mideast talks still under threat after Clinton visit

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended on Thursday three days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders with no visible sign of progress on breaking a deadlock over building in West Bank settlements.

In an ABC News interview, Clinton again gave voice to U.S. hopes that Israel would extend its partial construction moratorium past a Sept. 30 expiration date.

But Israel reaffirmed the 10-month freeze on housing starts in settlements in the occupied West Bank would end on schedule, and a Palestinian threat to walk out of the nascent negotiations if building resumed loomed over the U.S. peace effort.

Headling to Jordan

Officials close to the talks said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had rejected a proposal to extend the moratorium by three months.

Wrapping up a round of negotiations that began in Egypt on Tuesday, Clinton held talks in Jordan with King Abdullah after meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city Ramallah.

"Today, His Majesty and I discussed ongoing negotiations and I expressed my confidence that Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas can make the difficult decisions necessary to resolve all of the core issues within one year," she told a news conference in Amman.

Those issues include the borders of a Palestinians state and the future of settlements, Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.

Giving an upbeat assessment of her meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Clinton earlier told ABC in Jerusalem: "I would say they're in a constructive channel and that has been very reassuring to us."

Abbas's spokesman, however, made clear the Palestinians had not budged from their demand the moratorium continue on land Israel captured in a 1967 war, territory they want for a future state.

"The president reiterated to Secretary Clinton the Palestinian position regarding the requirements for the continuation of the peace process, specifically the issue of freezing settlement construction and ending the occupation," said the spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdainah.

The president reiterated to Secretary Clinton the Palestinian position regarding the requirements for the continuation of the peace process, specifically the issue of freezing settlement construction and ending the occupation

Nabil Abu Rdainah

Moratorium

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told Israel's Channel 1 TV he had raised the idea with Netanyahu to keep the moratorium in place for another three months, hoping to buy time for negotiators to agree on the borders of a Palestinian state.

Israel has said such a deal could entail a land swap under which it would keep major settlement blocs in the West Bank.

Once frontier lines were agreed, Mubarak said in the interview, Israel could build within its future borders and Palestinians could do the same -- effectively resolving the moratorium issue and keeping the peace talks alive.

In Cairo, Arab League chief Amr Mussa said that the Israeli-Palestinian talks should be given "a chance."

"Given that the essence of Israeli policies remains unchanged, and despite the doubts of some about the goals of these negotiations, we take the sage position of giving it a chance," he told a meeting of Arab foreign ministers.

"The Arab initiative is still being offered and it represents a chance for peace," Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said at the start of the meeting.

"This peace cannot be possible without the full Israeli withdrawal to 1967 borders including a withdrawal from the Golan Heights and south Lebanon and establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," he said.

"... we call on our Palestinian brethren to resolve differences between them and follow through with national reconciliation as fast as possible," Zebari said.

Given that the essence of Israeli policies remains unchanged, and despite the doubts of some about the goals of these negotiations, we take the sage position of giving it a chance

Arab League Chief Amr Moussa

"A lot of political capital"

Officials close to the talks said the United States, which launched the face-to-face negotiations in Washington on Sept. 2 after a 20-month hiatus, had made a similar proposal. U.S. officials declined to comment.

"We are working hard to make sure there remains a conducive atmosphere to constructive talks," Clinton said in the ABC interview, noting that it took Netanyahu "a lot of political capital" to achieve the moratorium in the first place.

In a statement, Netanyahu's bureau said he was standing by his position not to extend the moratorium. He has said, however, he intends to limit the scope of future settlement construction.

The settlements are deemed by the World Court to be illegal, a finding disputed by Israel. Palestinians fear the enclaves will deny them a viable and contiguous country.

Washington has set a one-year target for resolving major issues dividing the two sides. U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell said Israeli and Palestinian negotiators would meet next week and set a new date for leaders to convene.

As part of U.S. President Barack Obama's drive for a wider peace between Israel and the Arab world, Mitchell traveled to Syria on Thursday for talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and then he will head to Lebanon to meet Lebanese leaders.

In the Hamas-run Gaza Strip overnight, Israeli aircraft carried out three air strikes against suspected militant targets after rocket and mortar bomb attacks on Israel. No casualties were reported in the incidents.