Israeli construction moratorium expiration: genuine obstacle to Israeli/Palestinian peace talks, or red herring?

Any opinions on this subject? I'm leaning more toward red herring, because one has to wonder why so little was accomplished in the ten full months the moratorium was in effect. It was a conciliatory gesture aimed at re-starting meaningful talks, but none got going until it was set to expire. Now the Palestinian demand is for it to be extended, apparently without any firm concession in return.