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The admission seems almost certain to prompt a formal Palestinian withdrawal from peace talks with Israel just three months after they were launched to great fanfare in Washington.

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, suspended his involvement in the talks when Israel refused to extend an earlier moratorium that expired in September.

Mr Abbas insisted he would not return to the negotiating table until the issue was resolved, saying that the rapid growth of the Jewish settler population in the West Bank was undermining the prospect of there ever being a Palestinian state.

Desperate to salvage a process that has been central to Mr Obama’s foreign policy, US officials launched a concerted campaign to persuade Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to change his mind.

A fortnight ago it seemed as though they had clinched a deal, with Israel agreeing a one-off settlement freeze of three months in exchange for a substantial American package of security and diplomatic guarantees.

Among the inducements on offer was a consignment of 20F-35 stealth fighter aircraft, drawing criticism from some Bush-era officials that “so much was being offered for so little”.

But although President Obama went as far as to congratulate Mr Netanyahu for accepting the deal, Israel later stalled and issued a request for a written guarantee of the inducement package from the United States.

Past experience over 17 years of Middle East negotiations has made the United States deeply wary of written commitments. There were also concerns that three months was too short a period to reach agreement with the two sides on where the borders of a Palestinian state should lie and last night officials in Washington effectively declared that Israel’s proposal was a demand too far.

“After consultation with the parties, we have determined that a moratorium extension will not at this time provide the best basis for resuming direct negotiations,” a senior White House official told reporters.

In an effort to salvage something from the months of failed diplomacy, US officials said they would attempt to persuade the two sides to join indirect peace talks. Palestinian and Israeli negotiators have been invited to Washington next week.

Such an agreement, even if it was forthcoming, would only underscore the extent to which Mr Obama’s efforts have floundered since he came to office pledging to make the peace process a central foreign policy objective.

After months of refusing to communicate at all, the Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed to indirect talks earlier this year, a process the United States saw as a necessary but far from ideal prelude to full negotiations.

The Palestinian leadership is unlikely to favour a return to shuttle diplomacy and is now expected to seek the backing of the Arab League for a formal withdrawal from the peace talks.

Mr Abbas has said that if negotiations were to collapse he would seek international recognition for a Palestinian state from the United Nations Security Council. He has even threatened to dissolve the Palestinian Authority altogether, forcing upon Israel the unwelcome obligation of re-imposing full occupation over all the West Bank.

If the peace talks collapse, the United States is likely to apportion a majority of the blame to Israel, further straining the frequently tense relationship between President Obama and Mr Netanyahu.