There is little sign of how Washington will engage Israel's new leadership on such fundamental differences in policy, Atallah said, noting that the longer Washington waits, the harder it will be for the Israeli government to back down from its positions.

Richard W. Murphy, an Adjunct Scholar at the Middle East Institute think tank, believed that two forces -- radical Palestinian forces led by Hamas and Israeli settlers' imposition of their vision on politics, have raised high the wall facing any mediator seeking a solution.

Yet little sign emerged that Washington would deal with Hamas, which is blacklisted by the West as a terror group and is actually one of the major players in the conflict.

Neither did Mitchell talk with Hamas nor set foot on the Gaza Strip during his three trips to the region. Hamas voiced complaint when Mitchell did not make any attempt to contact the group during his first visit in January.

For Mitchell to have any success will require the persistent focus and support by the US president eager to see progress after years of failed peace efforts, he said.

The Obama administration did show its intent and sincere willingness to push forward Mideast peace in naming Mitchell as the special envoy after it kept silent about a 22-day massive Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip before the inauguration.

A veteran diplomat, Mitchell in 2002 successfully set up a reputation for impartiality on the Israeli-Palestinian peace by calling for freezing Israeli settlement activities and intensifying Palestinian efforts to crack down on terrorism.

The new Israeli leadership, however, probably could not be more forbidding for a US administration seeking to be pro-active on the Israeli-Palestinian peace front, said Wayne White, an Adjunct Scholar with the Middle East Institute think tank.

Combine that with the political split of Palestinians -- a radical Hamas ruling Gaza and Palestinian moderates in the West Bank, the picture looks even grimmer, he said, adding that advancing the peace process is a hard sell even in the best of times.

Analysts believe though the Israeli government has felt the US pressure on the Mideast peace, the two sides would not plunge into freeze or confrontation due to their traditional alliance and interest on the ground.  

(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2009)