Unless this happens, he said, "there can be no movement" toward a settlement.

By then, the Government and the company had begun negotiations toward a settlement.

By last October, the path toward a settlement seemed clear, although the details were still to be worked out.

Next, the judge might ask a few questions to help steer the parties toward a settlement.

That is effectively what he has now, with no talks toward a final settlement of the dispute under way.

"My point to the Israeli government is, as you do so, keep in mind there must be an avenue toward a peaceful settlement."

They said it was a step toward a negotiated settlement of the civil war, in which more than 60,000 people have died so far.

But the conflict seems, at last, to be edging toward a political settlement.

"What we have been trying to do is to find other responsible parties and work with them toward a settlement," she said.

"If there is movement toward a political settlement, we would like to see the non-Communists in a better position."