The Netherlands spent at least a year trying to broker a breakthrough in the deadlocked peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the NRC reports on Monday, quoting confidential sources.

Last winter an Israeli and Palestinian negotiator were in the Netherlands for talks, the paper says. Efforts were also made to get Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas round the negotiating table.

The secret operation had the codename ‘Bluegreen’ after the colour of the two flags.

The Dutch initiative, centred on VVD parliamentarian Han ten Broeke, began after the peace talks broke down in Amman in January 2012, the paper said.

The Netherlands stopped its efforts in March when US president Barak Obama launched his new peace initiative.