WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed again on Thursday to achieve a breakthrough in stalled Mideast peace talks as violence escalated in Palestinian areas. Albright and Netanyahu ended a second round of talks in a Washington hotel on Thursday with no deal on a U.S. proposal that Israel withdraw from 13 percent of the West Bank; no further talks between the two were planned.

Serious work is going on but we're not on the verge of a breakthrough as best as we can tell at this point, State Department Spokesman James Rubin told reporters, noting that U.S. and Israeli experts would continue to meet in Washington on the issue. But he said there had been no breakthrough in Thursday's talks and Albright, who has already changed her travel plans twice to meet with the Israeli prime minister, would depart this weekend for a U.S.-European Union summit as planned.

Albright and Netanyahu met in Washington for 90 minutes on Wednesday but could not break the deadlock. The situation still remains where the gaps have not been closed but serious work is going on, Rubin told reporters, although he acknowledged growing frustration with the impasse. (Reuter)