Israel’s refusal to resume the West Bank construction freeze in order to pave way for direct negotiations with the Palestinians is a major blow to Obama’s foreign policy.

The announcement ends months of U.S.-Israeli negotiations and can be seen has a virtual death sentence to the latest round of peace talks, since the Palestinians have no intentions of returning to the table as long as the settlement construction continues.

The U.S. administration went out of its way to talk Netanyahu into agreeing to the deal, which included 2-3 billion dollars worth of free fighter jets and other incentives in return to an extra 90 days of freeze – but ultimately Netanyahu’s right-wing government refused and the U.S backed off.

U.S. officials were fast to declare that the administration was not giving up on efforts to broker a peace deal. However, today’s reports indicate that Washington is taking a step backwards and reverting to the format of indirect proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians – a format which has proved completely unproductive in the past.

Hillary Clinton is expected to present the plan for American-brokered negotiations today at the Saban Forum in Washington.

And what does the Israeli public think about the U.S. involvement in the Mideast peace process?

According to a poll conducted by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, which was published yesterday – most Israelis do not pin their hopes on the American efforts. According to the survey, 51% of Israeli Jews polled have a negative opinion of President Barack Obama and 43% are not encouraged by Washington’s Mideast policy.