Ha'aretz (Israel) : "U.S. asks Israel for one-year settlement freeze" pzr Barak Ravid

Last update - 09:24 06/08/2009    


U.S. asks Israel for one-year settlement freeze  

By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent  

American Middle East envoy George Mitchell has asked Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak for a "deposit," an advance commitment of a one-year freeze on construction in West Bank settlements.

Mitchell raised the idea in his talks with Netanyahu and Barak in Israel last week. He argued that the Arab states will not make gestures toward normalization with Israel without a guarantee of an end to building in the settlements. Mitchell said an Israeli agreement to temporarily freeze construction would facilitate concessions from the Arab states.

A senior source in Jerusalem noted that while Netanyahu and Barak did not reject the request, they disagree with the Americans over some of the details.
Mitchell asked for a construction freeze of at least a year, but....................
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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1105653.html