The Quartet of Middle East mediators met top Israeli and Palestinian officials today to try to keep alive their peace process.
The peace talks, begun by President George W. Bush nearly a year ago at a conference in Annapolis, Maryland, have been hobbled from the start by violence and bitter disputes over Jewish settlement building and the future of Jerusalem.
Sitting side-by-side at a round table, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were to brief ministers from the Quartet, which groups the European Union, Russia, the UN and the United States.
Ms Livni, speaking to Israel Radio before leaving for Egypt, reaffirmed Israel's commitment to the Annapolis process.
"We are intentionally operating quietly and responsibly," she said, after months of negotiations with the Palestinians that have yielded few signs of progress. "If I thought hope was gone, I would not be attending today."
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, wrapping up what is likely to be her last visit to the region before stepping down, joined UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and European Union foreign policy Chief Javier Solana at the meeting.
While the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are expected to continue next year, political uncertainty in Israel and Barack Obama's victory in the US presidential election leave the Bush administration with limited influence in its waning days.
The White House this week conceded Mr Bush was unlikely to achieve his goal of securing a peace deal to end the six-decade conflict before he leaves office in January. Mr Bush had hoped an agreement would improve a legacy burdened by the war in Iraq.
The chances of a deal this year, always remote, seemed to evaporate when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced his decision to resign because of a corruption scandal, triggering a planned February 10th election in Israel.
Reuters