Mr. Regev reiterated on Thursday that Israel would not build new settlements and would abide by commitments regarding the removal illegal outposts, and he recalled that the Israeli authorities had recently taken action against a small number of settlers in illegal outposts. Last week, Israeli police and security forces dismantled a small Jewish outpost in the West Bank in what many in Jerusalem saw as a gesture by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to President Obama three days after they met in Washington. But new shacks have already appeared there.

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, is expected to focus on the issue of settlement expansion when he meets with Mr. Obama on Thursday in Washington. Mr. Abbas and other Palestinian leaders have said repeatedly that they see no point in resuming stalled peace negotiations without an absolute settlement freeze.

Analysts in Washington said the exchanges between the Obama administration and the Israeli authorities showed how far apart Israel and the United States are on the issue of settlements, even as Mr. Abbas prepares for meetings with the friendliest White House the Palestinian Authority has encountered in years.

Mr. Obama and other senior American officials have called on the government of Mr. Netanyahu, the leader of the right-wing Likud Party who became prime minister almost two months ago, to halt all settlement activity. Israel says it reached understandings with the Bush administration  some formal, some informal and some tacit  on building within settlements. For example, construction was limited in small outlying settlements but more tolerated in large ones in areas that Israel intends to keep under any deal with the Palestinians.

“We want to work to reach understandings with the new administration” that are “fair” and “workable,” said an Israeli official on Wednesday. He was speaking on condition of anonymity because the issue was still under discussion.