The UN Security Council adjourned a second late-night session early Saturday after again failing to agree on a resolution condemning Israeli "excessive use of force" against Palestinian civilians, reported AFP.
During nine hours of on-and-off consultations, diplomats said, the United States threatened to use its veto power to defeat a draft text.
The talks adjourned just after 2:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) and were scheduled to resume at 1:00 p.m. (1700 GMT).
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Richard Holbrooke, told reporters he had requested the "brief additional delay" on the instructions of President Bill Clinton, added the agency.
"There are still some problems with it (the draft resolution) from our point of view," Holbrooke said.
The draft resolution said the Council "condemns these acts of violence, especially the excessive use of force" but did not specifically cite the Israeli security forces in that context.
At least 86 people have been killed in the past eight days, all but three of them Palestinians or Israeli Arabs.
"President Clinton has been fully engaged in this process during the evening," Holbrooke said.
"The stakes are very high," he added, "we are working overtime."
On Friday, the Council broke up at 3:00 a.m. (0700 GMT) without reaching an agreement after five hours of consultations -- UNITED NATIONS (AFP)
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