Envoys from the international peacemaking Quartet were holding separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinians officials on Monday in a bid to kickstart long-stalled peace talks.
But there were no expectations of a breakthrough, with the Palestinians saying after their session with the envoys that they would not return to talks without an end to Jewish settlement building and a clear framework for any discussions.
Israel has rejected calls for a new freeze on settlement construction and says it wants talks without preconditions.
"We are ready to discuss all final status issues once Israel proves its seriousness and commitment by freezing all its illegal settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territory, especially in occupied east Jerusalem," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said in a statement.
He also called on Israel to accept "clear terms of reference" for any talks, including that discussions would be based on the borders that existed before the 1967 Six Day War.
"We cannot understate the importance of this issue. There is no doubt about the fact that Israeli settlements and the two-state solution are mutually exclusive," he added.
Israeli officials were expected to meet the Quartet envoys later in the day.
Israeli-Palestinian talks have been on hold for over a year, grinding to a halt shortly after they began in September 2010 over the issue of settlement construction.
The Palestinians say they will not hold negotiations while Israel builds on land it wants for a future state.
Israel has so far refused to renew a partial 10-month settlement freeze, which expired last year and says it will only talk if there are no pre-conditions.
The Quartet, composed of the United Nations, United States, European Union and Russia, is trying to bring the two sides back to talks under a proposal laid out in September shortly after the Palestinians submitted a request for full UN state membership.
The proposal sought the resumption of talks within a month, with the goal of an agreement within a year, but there has been no sign of progress so far.
Quartet envoys have already held one round of separate meetings with the two sides, and Washington's envoy David Hale held talks on Sunday night with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas ahead of Monday's discussions.
"Hale offered president Abbas direct negotiations with Israel with the presence of the Quartet, but president Abbas told him that he was willing on the condition that Israel halt settlement activity... and agree to the principle of a two-state solution on the 1967 borders," Erakat told AFP on Sunday night.
The Palestinians say without such guarantees from Israel, the negotiations will simply allow the Jewish state to continue settlement construction and that talks without a clear framework will not result in a final agreement.
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