The United States declined Thursday to say whether or not efforts by Washington to have Israel impose a new settlement freeze on Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories had failed.
In Jerusalem, the US administration informed the Palestinian Authority "that the Israeli government did not agree to a new settlement freeze," a Palestinian official said on condition of anonymity.
But State Department spokesman Philip Crowley declined to confirm the remarks.
"As we've said many, many times, we're not going to give you a play-by-play," Crowley told reporters.
"We have quiet conversations with both sides on the substance of the peace process. Those conversations are ongoing. And beyond that we're not going to get into details of what precisely was discussed," he added.
There was no comment from the US consulate in Israel, but Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas held talks with US Consul-general Daniel Rubinstein in Ramallah earlier Thursday.
Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said the meeting was inconclusive.
The United States has for weeks been trying to convince Netanyahu to impose a new moratorium on settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.
A previous 10-month freeze expired on September 26, shortly after the launch of new peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the first direct negotiations between the two sides in nearly two years.
The talks ground to a halt after the ban expired and settlement building resumed.
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