Washington  - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began a series of closed-door meetings Wednesday with Israeli and Palestinian officials in an effort to nudge along the peace process.

Rice met with her Israeli counterpart, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, ahead of a planned three-way meeting with chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia.

The United States is trying to broker a peace deal between the two sides before President George W Bush leaves office in January, a goal outlined at the Mideast conference Bush hosted in Annapolis, Maryland in November.

Bush, responding to criticism that he had neglected the issue, last year identified resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a top priority before his term runs out.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, however, dampened hope of an agreement when he said Monday it was not likely that key issues such as the status of Jerusalem - which both sides claim as their capital - could be resolved by year's end.

Rice said on Tuesday that she remained confident the Israelis and Palestinians were determined to reach an accord by the end of the year, responding to Olmert's remarks.

"I am quite certain and I have been assured that the government of Prime Minister Olmert remains committed to the Annapolis vision of concluding an agreement by the end of the year," Rice said after meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini. "There is no doubt that this is difficult work."

The Palestinians have strongly objected to Israeli plans to expand settlements, especially in East Jerusalem, which Israel seized in the 1967 war.

The US opposes more Israeli settlement and continues to remind Israel that expansions violate the 2002 internationally-backed roadmap peace plan, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

"The fact that there are these continuing activities with respect to settlement activity is a problem. We've talked to the Israelis about that," McCormack said.

Vice President Dick Cheney and Bush National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley are also expected to participate in the discussions. (dpa)