Dubai: Israel should extend its moratorium on colony expansion in the West Bank, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said ahead of her visit on Tuesday to Sharm Al Shaikh.
Colonies remained a major stumbling block as Palestinian, Egyptian and US officials met on Tuesday in the Red Sea city, which has hosted previous peace conferences.
Asked if there had been any progress on the colony issue after the first day of meetings, US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell deflected the question, saying talks were moving in the right direction "overall".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thus far refused to extend a ban on the expansion of colonies in the West Bank on land that is intended to form part of a future Palestinian state.
Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas faces a credibility crisis if the moratorium is not extended beyond September 30 and he continues to negotiate with the Israelis.
"We are all striving to bring the message to Netanyahu that the [colony] issue is important to negotiations and for us there cannot be any talks on ending occupation while occupation is deepening," Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath said.
Many observers see the situation as a bleak one, and believe this is the last "real" chance for a solution between the two sides.
Others believe the focus on the negotiations is simply a way for the Obama administration to deflect attention away from its failures in Afghanistan.
Clinton, who faces a stern test in overseeing negotiations, will meet Netanyahu and Abbas again in occupied Jerusalem today as she seeks to keep the talks alive.
Barack Obama has invested considerable political capital in the talks, launching them before November's congressional elections, in which Democrats face the prospect of suffering big losses to Republicans.
A swift and unsuccessful end to the talks would be a major blow for Obama, and the US president is expected to exert pressure on both sides in an effort to persuade them to stay at the table.
Looking ahead
In addition to colonies, the Israelis and Palestinians are this week expected to discuss how to structure future talks, should they go ahead, and decide which issues to tackle first.
Abbas is thought to be keen to focus on outlining the borders of a future Palestinian state, while Netanyahu wants to look at security arrangements to ensure such a state would not threaten Israel.
