The officials charged that Netanyahu is the main obstacle to an agreement at this stage of the talks, which hit an impasse last month after Hamas caved on its main demand and the premier responded by issuing a series of new conditions.
The admission from the Arab officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, indicated that frustration among Qatari and Egyptian mediators has extended beyond Israel to the United States.
One of the Arab officials lamented that Washington is the only party with enough leverage over Jerusalem to sway Netanyahu, but that is has thus far refrained from fully exploiting its role as Israel’s main security benefactor.
One way to apply pressure on Netanyahu would be for the US to publicly blame the Israeli premier for the lack of an agreement, the Arab official said.
For over a month, the US called out Hamas as the sole obstacle to a ceasefire, asserting that Netanyahu was standing by the Israeli proposal that he authorized in late May. READ MORE