Washington's peace envoy ended a week of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East today with little yet to show for his efforts as Israel and the Palestinians dug in over Jewish settlements.
Although Mr Mitchell did not win any breakthroughs in shuttle diplomacy, the process will continue, the State Department said today.
"Of course we hoped to have an agreement. Of course we were hoping for some kind of breakthrough," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters after Mr Mitchell left the region.
"This is going to demand a lot of patience, and the US is ready to stay patient, stay engaged, and make all the efforts necessary to reach this goal."
Mr Kelly said there was no current plan for President Barack Obama to host a summit next week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during the UN General Assembly in New York.
Each side in the Middle East blamed the other for failure but pledged to keep talking. Neither is keen to refuse any invitation to a summit from Mr Obama, but on both sides officials acknowledge that a photograph and handshake at the United Nations will not be enough to relaunch the peace process without substantial shifts in negotiating positions.
"Mitchell's shuttle visit has ended without agreement," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat after the former senator met Mr Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah for talks that were sandwiched between meetings with Mr Netanyahu in nearby Jerusalem.
Mr Netanyahu, in power since March at the head of a right-wing coalition sceptical of Palestinian intentions, is weathering the sourest spell in Israeli-US relations for a decade by defying the new US president's demand that he curb the settlements.
Mr Mitchell, a former senator credited with helping bring peace to Northern Ireland, maintained his usual silence on his work.
Israeli officials said Mr Netanyahu, whose right-wing cabinet includes strong pro-settler elements, had offered him a freeze on building in the West Bank for nine months - longer than the six months Israel previously indicated it would consider.
Mr Mitchell has been pressing for a year's freeze, they added.
"The Palestinians showed no flexibility on settlements while Israel did," an official on Mr Netanyahu's staff said.
Palestinians, who say expanding settlements in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem will deny them a viable state, want a full halt to building until a final peace, which might involve Israel keeping some settlements in a land swap. They reject Mr Netanyahu's insistence on excluding East Jerusalem from any freeze.
Reuters