WASHINGTON. Aug 7: The United States said Thursday it was close to declaring an end to its peace effort with Israel and the Palestinians despite Israeli assertions that a deal was within reach, reports AFP.

"We re not abandoning this current phase of our effort, but we re not far from declaring our judgement on it." said State Department deputy spokesman James Foley.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright urged Israeli Prime. Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat during telephone conversations in recent days to reach agreement. Foley said.

“She urged both leaders ,to make additional efforts to achieve an agreement. We certainly think it is important that they do so." he said.

President Bill Clinton in January put forward a package of proposals to end a protracted deadlock in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.

The proposals call for a 13 per cent Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank coupled with Palestinian steps to fight violence from extremists.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has accepted the US proposals.

Israel, which had long balked at the scope of the pullback. has recently offered to transfer 10 per cent of the territory to the Palestinian Authority while an additional three per cent would be turned into a nature reserve".

Reuter adds: Israel's new ambassador to Washington said on Thursday gaps with the Palestinians on a new peace deal were "almost none-exis-tent” and Israel was ready to give the PLO a map to illustrate a proposed troop pullback.

Speaking to reporters, envoy Zalman Shoval also confirmed Israeli press reports that Israel had offered a compromise in a dispute over changes to a Palestinian Charter that calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. .

But Shoval left open whether the US-backed talks between Is-

rael and the Palestinians would succeed or fall, the Palestinians charged this week that Israel had brought no fresh Ideas to the talks and indicated they were going nowhere.

The State Department said on Thursday Secretary of state Madeleine Albright had telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in recent days and won assurances that they would pur-

sue talks.

"They agreed to keep at it." spokesman James Foley said.

Foley said an agreement was possible, but added: "We don't have illusions that though the gaps are not large, they may turn out to be unbridgeable."

The two sides are discussing a US proposal for Israel to withdraw from another 13 per cent of the West Bank in return for tougher Palestinian moves against antl-Israel guerillas.