Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said it would be impossible to finalise a peace outline with the Palestinians before the Israeli election on February 6th despite progress made during negotiations in Egypt.
His remarks followed negotiators' assessments that the two sides would at best reach an understanding that would allow talks to continue after the Israeli prime ministerial poll.
"I think they are doing very important work there at the Egyptian resort town of Taba on the Red Sea," Mr Barak said.
"I think there...is very interesting progress on many issues at Taba even though it's impossible to finalise it," he said.
An outline for peace is generally acknowledged as Mr Barak's best chance of staying in power in the face of a four-month-long Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation which he has failed to subdue. Public opinion polls show him trailing to right-wing rival Mr Ariel Sharon by a large margin.
Reuters