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Last update - 08:36 16/06/2009
U.S. could yield on settlement freeze, says government source
By Barak Ravid
Tags: Mideast Peace 

The U.S. administration is prepared to show flexibility on construction in West Bank settlements, a government source in Jerusalem says. The Americans will apparently not demand a full freeze on construction, but will agree that projects now underway can be completed, Israeli officials say.

A week from Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to meet with U.S. special envoy George Mitchell in Paris to discuss the details.

The breakthrough came during Mitchell's visit to Israel last week, when he held a four-hour meeting on the settlement issue with Netanyahu and his advisers. He also discussed the matter for an hour and a half with Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
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Mitchell said during the talks that at this stage the United States would not impose sanctions on Israel due to construction in the settlements. However, the U.S. would not be able to call on the Arab countries to make goodwill gestures to Israel unless Jerusalem moved to rein in construction.

Netanyahu and Barak told Mitchell that construction in the West Bank could not be totally halted because tenders had been issued and approved, construction had started and people had bought apartments.

A senior White House source did not deny that progress had been made on the matter. "We have managed to close the gaps," the source said. Netanyahu told American news outlets yesterday that he hoped the Obama administration would show understanding of Israel's needs regarding construction in the settlements.

Israel and the United States have been working on a way to define which construction would be allowed. The assumption in Israel is that the Americans will not relinquish their demand to freeze construction, but that they would be flexible when it came to building already underway. Discussions revolve around what the "point of no return" is regarding construction.

A government source in Jerusalem said the Americans understood that even if Netanyahu agreed to a full freeze, the government did not have the legal authority to force private construction companies to stop building. The source said that if an attempt were made to order a halt to construction, contractors or homeowners would appeal to the High Court of Justice and probably win.

American willingness to show flexibility on a settlement freeze comes after weeks of tension between Washington and Jerusalem on the issue. Tension heightened when the Obama administration announced that it did not recognize agreements between the Bush administration and the Sharon and Olmert governments regarding construction in the large settlement blocs. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statement that the administration opposed any kind of settlement construction garnered a great deal of attention.

Settlements also featured prominently yesterday in talks between Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and 27 European Union foreign ministers in Luxembourg. Although senior EU figures did not work to stop the upgrading of relations with Israel, they said additional progress would depend on the peace process with the Palestinians. The announcement effectively stops the upgrading, at least until Israel and the Palestinians resume negotiations.

The EU foreign ministers held a few hours of consultations before their meeting with Lieberman, releasing a statement very critical of Israel afterward. France and Belgium led the criticism, and Netanyahu is likely to hear similar messages when he goes to Paris next week.

The ministers said in a statement they "welcomed the initial step" of Netanyahu's speech, but added it was not enough and that Israel had to unequivocally state its support for the two-state solution.

The EU "remains deeply concerned by settlement activities" and urged the Israeli government to "immediately end settlement activities, including in East Jerusalem and including natural growth," the statement said, reiterating the position that settlements are illegal according to international law and are an obstacle to peace.

The ministers also called on Israel to immediately open the crossings to Gaza to allow passage of people, humanitarian aid and merchandise. They also called for a cessation of violence on both sides.

Also yesterday, Netanyahu spoke by phone to world leaders about his speech at Bar-Ilan University on Sunday. Chancellor Angela Merkel praised him for his statements on a Palestinian state, as did British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Netanyahu also spoke to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who earlier in the day had criticized Netanyahu's address, saying there would be no peace agreement without a solution to the refugee issue.

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      1.   True story 03:13  |  Bazmann 16/06/09
      2.   Okay, Okay. But where are the borders? 03:17  |  Lou Medel 16/06/09
      3.   What does a freeze mean exactly? 03:51  |  WHG 16/06/09
      4.   Betcha those rubber stamps are working overtime 04:02  |  Johnboy 16/06/09
      5.   Mission Accomplished! 04:10  |  Mark Lincoln 16/06/09
      6.   Israeli Colonialism! 04:10  |  Le Corbeau 16/06/09
      7.   Who`s your source AIPAC? 04:19  |  betz55 16/06/09
      8.   What "Goodwill Gestures"? 05:18  |  Jeff Northridge 16/06/09
      9.   Settlements 05:34  |  John 16/06/09
      10.   Flexibility? its either a freeze or expansion 05:51  |  Archie 16/06/09
      11.   A construction freeze by itself is meaningless 06:09  |  Natallie Durson 16/06/09
      12.   #4 Says who, Mark Lincoln? 06:23  |  Johnboy 16/06/09
      13.   Obama - Looks like False Hope 06:25  |  Bill 16/06/09
      14.   Good, I now have a bit of understanding what is required 06:27  |  Mark Lincoln 16/06/09
      15.   #3 I can answer that, WHG 06:38  |  Johnboy 16/06/09
      16.   so is this another case 06:56  |  rm 16/06/09
      17.   "High Court of Justice" 07:11  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 16/06/09
      18.   If the US takes this step, it has capitulated to land piracy 08:36  |  Ivar 16/06/09
      19.   Lou Meddle 09:51  |  x-ray 16/06/09
      20.   1.7 per cent of the west bank 09:57  |  Settler Babe 16/06/09
      21.   IVAR You want a corridor between WB & Gaza via Israel? 10:16  |  PETER SM 16/06/09
      22.   Let`s join the drunken taglit kids 10:23  |  Woody 16/06/09
      23.   The entire WB is Israeli territory!!! 11:12  |  Dr eric 16/06/09
      24.   Why the US is bending 11:15  |  The Prophet 16/06/09
      25.   Carter said straight out - Israel will maintain Settlements 11:15  |  Dr Eric 16/06/09
      26.   #12 ivar still in the dream state of arab promises 11:20  |  vhardman 16/06/09
      27.   #13 Well, Israel did renege on the alternative, PETER SM 11:39  |  Johnboy 16/06/09
      28.   Hechsher for illegal occupation 11:40  |  Ussishkin 16/06/09
      29.   MICHELL WAS UNDER TREMENDOUS PRESSURE 11:44  |  indrajaya 16/06/09
      30.   Not the business of the US 11:54  |  Baruch Gold 16/06/09
      31.   Rabin`s solution 13:17  |  Jordan 16/06/09
      32.   Israel & the US to define settlement construction 13:57  |  Ernst 16/06/09
      33.   Wishful thinking by an Israeli government 13:58  |  Chris Linthwaite 16/06/09
      34.   2 state solution who`s fooling whom? 14:12  |  Hilda 16/06/09
      35.   #13 Settler Babe 14:21  |  Chris Linthwaite 16/06/09
      36.   to Dr.Eric(all WB`s israel):in your dreams only!!! 14:27  |  ex-jewish 16/06/09
      37.   Future freeze = delayed ghetto 14:30  |  Yehuda 16/06/09
      38.   To Dr.eric/ To compromise 14:30  |  Anne 16/06/09
      39.   settlement 14:31  |  ehud 16/06/09
      40.   #4 - As a matter of fact, Johnboy... 14:43  |  JES 16/06/09
      41.   #17 The Prophet jumps the gun 14:57  |  Johnboy 16/06/09
      42.   #5 On the basis of what, exactly, Mark Lincoln? 15:01  |  Johnboy 16/06/09
      43.   To Jordan 15:03  |  Sam Soul 16/06/09
      44.   #14 Well, Israel DID renege on the last deal, PETER 15:09  |  Johnboy 16/06/09
      45.   Pals just said peace process is over! 15:13  |  Realist 16/06/09
      46.   #32 Say that again, Realist? 16:01  |  Johnboy 16/06/09
      47.   Will US Admin. Cave in on its Very 1st Demand 16:04  |  Monitor 16/06/09
      48.   #24 Except it isn`t true, Ernst 16:06  |  Johnboy 16/06/09
      49.   Any step back will be damaging for the US, the price has 16:06  |  Kris Lazar 16/06/09
      50.   #28 The reverse must be equally true, Yehuda 16:08  |  Johnboy 16/06/09
      51.   #25 Apparently so, Chris. 16:15  |  Johnboy 16/06/09
      52.   Homa Umigdal, or 16:47  |  Joshua 16/06/09
      53.   #3 I can answer your question, WHG 16:50  |  Johnboy 16/06/09
      54.   Are you surprised? 17:33  |  Jennifer 16/06/09
      55.   No legal ground to continue 17:43  |  Jan Elshout 16/06/09
      56.   Define borders. Jews will know if they`re Israeli or Palestinian 17:45  |  Lou Medel 16/06/09
      57.   #14 Settler Babe 17:50  |  Lou Medel 16/06/09
      58.   To Lou - Thanks for Your Nicely Played Charades we see through it 18:12  |  Eli 16/06/09
      59.   To Sam, it seems you can`t take yes for an answer either 18:14  |  Jordan 16/06/09
      60.   settlement 18:31  |  patriot 16/06/09
      61.   How The US should twist arms 18:32  |  Shaul Ben-Yimini 16/06/09
      62.   Nathalie`s worst nightmares come true 18:35  |  arik 16/06/09
      63.   Lou--thks for that--guess JN will agree--he is always 18:37  |  Labhras 16/06/09
      64.   No legal ground to stop a crime---only in Israel 18:43  |  andrea 16/06/09
      65.   #44 The reverse is true 18:52  |  Yehuda 16/06/09
      66.   This Cannot Happen 18:57  |  Yaakov Sullivan 16/06/09
      67.   #59 Yehuda is Haifa 19:15  |  Lou Medel 16/06/09
      68.   How Long Will It Take? 19:40  |  Finkelstein 16/06/09
      69.   This paragraph`s quite rich 20:17  |  opiumwar 16/06/09
      70.   Interesting observation- 20:21  |  another view 16/06/09
      71.   Settlements worked for US 20:43  |  TallTexan 16/06/09
      72.   Fat is in the fire. Israeli law trumps International Law 21:01  |  Witness 16/06/09
      73.   to Le Corbeau 21:12  |  iDub 16/06/09
      74.   "Deeply concerned" kidglove 21:37  |  David 16/06/09
      75.   To "another view" 21:38  |  Witness 16/06/09
      76.   Ivar 02:53  |  Jasper 17/06/09
      77.   #65 Letting them reward themself for nothing, Yehuda? 03:36  |  Johnboy 17/06/09
      78.   What a difference a week makes 03:42  |  Jasper 17/06/09
      79.   The closed world here is amazing... 04:41  |  BBSNews 17/06/09
      80.   #78 Thanks for the insight, Jasper! 04:58  |  Johnboy 17/06/09
      81.   #40 As a matter of fact, JES... 06:16  |  Johnboy 17/06/09
      82.   Yes BBs We will talk. So what? 08:09  |  arik 17/06/09
      83.   This shouldn`t be allowed 08:12  |  ID 17/06/09
      84.   Meanwhile, the view from the Americans is.... 10:03  |  Johnboy 17/06/09
      85.   gee that`s a big surprise 17:19  |  ang 18/06/09
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