Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem 15 December 2010. (Reuters)
Israel's Benyamin Netanyahu was on Thursday meeting with his inner Forum of Seven, a government official said, to discuss ideas raised with the US Middle East envoy regarding the deadlocked peace talks.
A government official confirmed the prime minister had called the meeting but refused to discuss its agenda.
"The peace process has arrived at an impasse. The Palestinians are systematically refusing to enter direct negotiations with Israel, unfortunately," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The international community should appeal to the Palestinians to change their position and agree to come back to the negotiating table."
US Middle East envoy George Mitchell had earlier this week held two days of talks with Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to try to find a way to keep the sides engaged in the search for peace.
Arab diplomats on Wednesday ruled out a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations without a "serious offer" which would ensure their success.
They also decided to approach the UN Security Council to seek a resolution against Israel's ongoing settlement building.
Direct peace talks collapsed last week after Washington admitted it had failed to secure Israel's agreement to a new freeze on settlement building, the Palestinian condition for continuing to negotiate.
The US focus is now on new ideas, with Mitchell proposing six weeks of "parallel" talks, where negotiators would hold separate talks with the Americans in a format which would not be classed as "negotiations", a Palestinian official told AFP on Wednesday.
The Forum of Seven Ministers was also to consider the possibility of widespread international recognition of an independent Palestinian state, the Maariv daily said.
Over the past few weeks, Palestinian officials have been talking up their options if peace talks with Israel totally collapse; one of which is seeking recognition for a unilateral declaration of statehood.
Earlier this month, Brazil and Argentina recognised a Palestinian state, with Uruguay soon to follow suit. And this week, European Union foreign ministers also expressed their readiness to recognise such a state at an "appropriate" time.
Israel opposes such a move, saying a Palestinian state should only be established through negotiations.
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