While Russia has always been fitfully involved in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts over the years, Mr. Putin now seems intent on taking the lead, both as a poke at Washington amid continuing tension over Syria and Ukraine and as a show of Russian significance. Mr. Putin has made a point of developing a relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel even as Mr. Netanyahu has feuded with President Obama.  “They’re eager to become an important player, a big shot in the Middle East,” said Zvi Magen, a former Israeli ambassador to Russia who is now a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. “The idea is not to reach any specific results, but it’s good for Russia. They don’t need results. They need the process itself.”  So far, all they have is the process. After Mr. Putin’s special envoy met with Mr. Netanyahu and officials of the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas, in recent days, Moscow declared that the two had agreed “in principle” to meet. But no date was set, and neither side openly confirmed an agreement to sit down.  Until now, Mr. Abbas insisted that before any meeting Israel must freeze its construction of settlements in the West Bank and release prisoners. Mr. Netanyahu had insisted that he would meet only if there were no preconditions.  It remained unclear whether Mr. Abbas had dropped his conditions, but even if he had, his team held out little hope for a meeting in the near term. A senior Palestinian official, who insisted on anonymity because of the shifting nature of the diplomacy, said his side had agreed to a meeting in principle, but there was no date and he did not expect that there would be soon.  The official refused to specify whether Mr. Abbas was demanding any terms for the meeting, saying only that there had been “no change in the Palestinian position” regarding settlement construction. He reiterated the Palestinian assertion that the demand for a settlement freeze is not a precondition, but an obligation under international law.  The Palestinians argued that Mr. Netanyahu was the one who did not really want a meeting brokered by the Russians. But his office maintained that he would go anywhere, anytime to meet as long as no terms were required to sit down.  Russia is stepping forward in an attempt to arrange negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.  “If the Palestinian Authority can say with one voice that they are willing to meet without preconditions, then Prime Minister Netanyahu will meet President Abbas,” said David Keyes, a spokesman for the Israeli leader.  Always a crafty tactician, Mr. Netanyahu seems to be gambling that the Palestinians will never drop their terms while he gets to contend that he is open to negotiations. In reality, analysts said, he wants to undercut a French effort to broker talks and is especially worried that Mr. Obama, his nemesis, might go to the United Nations after the American election in November to seek a resolution outlining terms of a possible peace deal.  If there is even the appearance of progress in Moscow, Mr. Netanyahu hopes it may discourage Mr. Obama from acting for fear of appearing to be interfering, some scholars said. “It’s good to show the United States that he’s a relatively good player at this game,” said Mr. Magen, the former Israeli ambassador.  Mr. Netanyahu may also have a domestic interest in playing along with the appearance of progress if he is serious about broadening his governing coalition by luring in Isaac Herzog, the current opposition leader, and at least part of his center-left Zionist Union party.  In another indication of the toxic atmosphere that does not seem conducive to peace talks, Mr. Netanyahu released a video on Friday accusing the Palestinian leadership of demanding a Palestinian state with “no Jews” in it. “There’s a phrase for that,” he said. “It’s called ethnic cleansing.” The Palestinians have protested this charge that has cropped up of late, saying there is a difference between what Mr. Netanyahu is claiming and their refusal to legitimize the settlements.  The Palestinians view the Moscow peace bid as a way to keep their cause on the international radar screen. For Mr. Abbas, who faces internal dissent, it is also a way of keeping power.  “The Palestinians want to give the impression that their issue is still high in the sky and everybody is losing sleep because of the Palestinian question,” Professor Qaq said. “But I think this is an illusion.”  Mr. Abbas prefers the effort led by the French, who have traditionally been more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, and he must maneuver carefully to keep the Russians from pointing at him as the obstacle to peace, analysts said.  Not that the Russian effort has much chance either way. “It’s all nonsense,” Ziad Abu Zayyad, a journalist and former Palestinian Authority minister, said on Israeli radio.“I don’t see any point in a meeting between Abu Mazen and Netanyahu,” he added, using Mr. Abbas’s nickname. “There were already tens of meetings like this, and they bore no fruit.”
Moscow wants to compete with Washington for regional influence. Israel wants to thwart the French, and the Palestinians want to elevate their standing.