The quartet of Middle East peace brokers began a meeting today that the United States hopes will endorse its push to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks despite violence raging between Palestinian factions.
The US State Department said it expected the talks among the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union to reaffirm efforts to isolate the Hamas-led Palestinian government through a year-old international aid embargo.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to outline US plans to other quartet members for a proposed meeting later this month among herself, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert.
Speaking before the talks, Dr Rice told reporters they would cover "how to make progress toward the establishment of a Palestinian state".
The US peace push takes place amid fresh clashes between forces loyal to Hamas and to Abbas. At least 14 people died today in fighting in Gaza, where Hamas overran compounds used by Mr Abbas's forces and two major universities were set ablaze.
At least 20 Palestinians have been killed and more than 200 wounded in the last 24 hours of internal fighting, making some analysts deeply skeptical of broader US-led peace efforts.
US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said it was up to the Palestinians to settle their differences and that it was still worth trying to promote peace with Israel despite the internecine violence.
The militant group Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel or renounce violence, swept to power in Palestinian elections in January 2006. Efforts by the US-backed Mr Abbas to form a unity government with Hamas that might be more interested in negotiating peace with Israel have so far failed.
"If you wait for all of those political-to-political divisions to be completely bridged or healed you don't know how long that is going to take," Mr McCormack told reporters. "In the meantime, everybody can agree on the fact that there should be a Palestinian state and you can work on ... aspects of that."