Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu planned to convene his inner cabinet to discuss gestures toward the Palestinians after saying today progress had been made during a troubled US visit.
"We think we have found a golden way that would allow the Americans to move the peace process forward while preserving our national interests," Mr Netanyahu said en route from Washington, where a two-week-old dispute over settlements clouded talks.
Despite his hints at compromise, the Palestinians said they had no indication from US president Barack Obama there had been agreement on how to revive negotiations while Israel continues building on occupied land they want for state.
Mr Netanyahu's cabinet secretary Zvi Hauser said he would assemble top ministers to consider a package of goodwill gestures drawn up by his and Mr Obama's advisers in a flurry of White House meetings.
The cabinet session had originally been scheduled for tonight t but an Israeli official said it had been postponed, most likely to Friday afternoon.
Mr Netanyahu's aides offered no details on what would be discussed.
Palestinians want a complete Israeli settlement freeze in East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank.
Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its capital, a claim that has not won international recognition.
"There is absolutely nothing new, as of this moment, regarding the situation facing the peace process," Nabil Abu Rdainah, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said.
He said Abbas would brief the Arab League, which meets in Libya on March 27-28th, about the situation.
The Obama administration and Netanyahu government have tried to get relations back on track after a plan to build 1,600 homes for Jews in Ramat Shlomo, a settlement on West Bank land that Israel annexed to Jerusalem after the 1967 war, was announced on March 10th during a visit by US vice president Joe Biden.
Reuters