And I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojournings, wherein they sojourned. (Exodus 6:4)

The recently rebooted peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority has once again come to a halt following a Palestinian demand to discuss possible land swaps and border issues, a demand that Israel has staunchly rejected, according to The Times of Israel.

According to an unnamed, senior foreign diplomat with knowledge of the discussions, during the latest round of talks, the Israeli team of Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Netanyahu adviser Yitzhak Molcho made it clear to the Palestinians that Israel intends to keep some of the settlement blocs inside Israel as part of a final agreement, but refused to name which areas or discuss possible compensation to the Palestinians for the annexed territory, Maariv reported.

The meeting the source was referring to reportedly took place right before the Rosh Hashana holiday in early September.

According to the report, Netanyahu wants a deal under which some settlements will remain under Israel’s jurisdiction but be enclaves within a Palestinian state, a position opposed by Ramallah.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have refused to discuss details of the talks publicly while they are ongoing.

The Israeli team also reportedly “refused in principle” the idea of a land-swap deal with a 1:1 ratio, an often cited possibility in which Israel would transfer to the Palestinians land adjacent to the West Bank, equivalent in size to the settlements that will remain part of Israel in a final status agreement, the report said.

According to the source, the talks will falter unless a face-to-face meeting by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PA President Mahmoud Abbas is brokered by the US administration.

Last week, United States Secretary of State John Kerry told the United Nations General Assembly, “All of the issues are on the table: territory, security, refugees, Jerusalem – all of the final status issues are on the table,” Kerry said, adding that “we are not seeking an interim agreement; we are seeking a final status agreement.”