The Goldstone report drove the Israelis and Palestinians apart, a U.S. State Department official said.

The aside by Assistant U.S. Secretary of State P.J. Crowley in a briefing for reporters Tuesday was the clearest signal of U.S. frustration with the United Nations Human Rights Council report into last winter's Gaza war, authored by South African Justice Richard Goldstone, that recommended war crimes charges against Israel and Hamas.

"It's not a failure, because the process isn't over," Crowley said of Palestinian-Israel talks. "The process is ongoing. But clearly, in the aftermath of the Goldstone report, we've seen this fairly substantial gap emerge, and we're seeing what we can do to move both sides closer to a decision to enter into negotiations."...