WASHINGTON: The Obama administration has abandoned its effort to persuade Israel to renew a settlement construction freeze, which US diplomats had hoped would invigorate moribund peace talks with the Palestinians.

With senior Israeli and Palestinian negotiators scheduled to hold talks in Washington next week, and the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, due to deliver a speech on the Middle East tomorrow, it was unclear what direction the administration's policy would now take.

US officials who briefed reporters in Washington and in Jerusalem said the administration had taken off the table a package of political and security incentives offered to Israel in exchange for a 90-day freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank.

The expectation had been that the three-month freeze would provide breathing space for Israeli-Palestinian negotiators to gain momentum in talks on issues including the borders of a Palestinian state.

The US decided not to comply with an Israeli request to put its offer in writing, including $US3 billion worth of jet fighters, a commitment to object to anti-Israel resolutions in international organisations, and an agreement never again to ask for a suspension of settlement construction.