Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have no intention of initiating moves that would enable the peace process to resume, the Yedioth Aharonoth daily reported Tuesday.
The newspaper cited a confidential document which is allegedly based on the discussions held in Washington in recent days between a top Israeli official and senior U.S. officials regarding various aspects of the stalled peace process.
According to the report, senior members of U.S. President Barack Obama's administration were sharply criticizing Netanyahu's inaction on the peace process following his visit to the U.S. two weeks ago.
In his address before a joint session of the U.S. Congress, Netanyahu rejected Obama's call on Israel to withdraw to the 1967 cease-fire lines as the basis for a peace deal with the Palestinians, asserting that the Jewish state would not return to "indefensible" borders.
The U.S. officials assessed that Netanyahu did not intend to present Abbas with an offer that would enable a breakthrough in the peace process, which reached an impasse in September, 2010, following Israel's refusal to extend a freeze on the West Bank settlement construction.
The Palestinians are expected to proceed with their efforts to unilaterally obtain recognition for their statehood from the United Nations in September, according to the report received at the Israeli prime minister's office.
It said that Abbas was allegedly blaming the White House and Netanyahu for pushing him into a corner and leaving him no choice other than continuing to promote the statehood bid.