JERUSALEM — The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, met on Monday with Egypt’s president, Hosni Mubarak, in the Sinai resort of Sharm el Sheik, and the Obama administration’s envoy arrived in the region amid final preparations for the start of indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

The talks, expected in days, will be the first in more than a year. But the atmosphere in the region was hardly enthusiastic, with Israeli officials expressing skepticism about the prospects of a breakthrough and Palestinian officials warning Israel against taking any steps that could torpedo the talks.

The so-called proximity talks, to be brokered by the American envoy, George J. Mitchell, were delayed in March after the Israeli government announced plans for new Jewish housing in contested East Jerusalem. The top leaders on both sides have been taking care to avoid statements that could be deemed provocative; nevertheless, a certain dissonance remains evident.

Dan Meridor, the Israeli minister for intelligence affairs, said Monday that “the real talks will be direct.” The idea of proximity talks was “quite strange,” he told Army Radio, after successive Israeli governments had held direct talks with the Palestinians on and off for the past 16 years.