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Last update - 14:45 23/09/2009
Netanyahu: Demand for settlement freeze 'costing time'
By The Associated Press
Tags: Israel news, barack obama 
Netanyahu: Obama pledged commitment to Israel in front of Muslim world; FM: Israel winning on settlements.

A day after meeting U.S. President Barack Obama at a tripartite summit in New York, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the U.S. demand for a complete settlement freeze in the West Bank was "costing us a great deal of time."

Netanyahu, who has rebuffed the Obama administration's repeated calls for a complete freeze to activity in West Bank settlements, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer:

"I think that raising this condition, something that hasn't happened in 15 years of Israeli-Palestinian dialogue - nobody put this precondition - this is just costing us a great deal of time."
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"The issue of settlements has to be discussed at the end or in the context within these negotiations, not before," he added.

"It has to be resolved. And we're prepared to look into this issue, as into other issues. But we have to talk in order to talk about it," said Netanyahu. That's obvious. And yet we haven't. For six months, we have been waiting to talk about talks. I say let's put that aside. Let's just get on with it and start the peace process again.

Netanyahu also told CNN that the bond between Israel and the United States was as strong as ever.

"Let me tell you something about President Obama, because I think this should be fully appreciated. He stood before the entire Muslim world. I don't know if a billion people heard him, but hundreds of millions of people in Muslim countries heard him. And he said: 'The bond between America and Israel is unshakeable. We are absolutely committed to Israel's security'."





"Israel has a terrific friend in America and the American people," Netanyahu added. "And I want the American people to know that you - they have a terrific friend in Israel. In the Middle East, you don't have that many friends, but we're definitely right at the top of the list."

When asked by Blitzer "who is a better friend of Israel", Bush or Obama, Netanyahu responded:

"I think that President Obama's commitment to Israel has been expressed very loud, very clearly by him. And I think this reflects the underlying friendship between our two countries. It's very strong."

Lieberman: 3-way meet shows Israel is winning on settlements

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday that Netanyahu's summit with the Palestinian and American leaders was a victory because it took place even as Israel rebuffed demands to freeze settlement in the West Bank.

Netanyahu met in New York on Tuesday with President Barack Obama and
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. It was Netanyahu's first meeting with Abbas since the prime minister came to power in March, but peace negotiations have not officially resumed and there was no obvious progress.

According to Lieberman, the meeting showed Israel's firm stand
against a settlement freeze was effective.

"This government has shown that you don't always need to get flustered, to surrender and give in," Lieberman told Israel Radio. "What's important for me is that this government kept its promises to the voter ... and the fact is that this meeting happened."

Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have previously
demanded a full halt to construction in the settlements. The Palestinians, emboldened at least in part by the U.S. stand, said they would not resume
negotiations without a freeze.

Past rounds of negotiations have been conducted while construction went on in Israeli settlements, where the population has more than doubled to 300,000 since Israel and the Palestinians signed a landmark agreement in 1993.

Obama did not explicitly call for a settlement freeze at Tuesday's meeting, and George Mitchell, the U.S. special Mideast envoy, said afterward that the administration does not see a resolution of the settlement showdown as a precondition for resuming negotiations.

The U.S. position was a boost for Israel and rankled Palestinians, who are still demanding a settlement freeze as a condition for talks.

Seeking to simultaneously appease the U.S. and his hardline coalition
government, Netanyahu has agreed to slow settlement construction for a limited time. He has said construction will continue on some 3,000 housing units.
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  1.   Lieberman is surely not a clever politician 12:39  |  Petteri 23/09/09
  2.   Now understand why Bibi took Lieberman to Obama meeting... 12:18  |  Esther 23/09/09
  3.   Diplomacy doesn`t work on him. Not even a memo. A brick maybe.... 12:27  |  S 23/09/09
  4.   The current Israeli Govt plays better and talks less - 12:42  |  17 23/09/09
  5.   Lieberman, read the history books 12:44  |  Lefy Pundit 23/09/09
  6.   Lieberman is right!!! 12:47  |  Petra 23/09/09
  7.   Now THAT`S chutzpah!!!!! 13:18  |  Johnboy 23/09/09
  8.   Settlements are a "lose-lose proposition" - NO winners 13:34  |  Ivar 23/09/09
  9.   Pal propaganda is based on breaking American commitment to Israel 13:38  |  Sam 23/09/09
  10.   Israel`s winning 13:40  |  rm 23/09/09
  11.   Meanwhile, another new pre-condition added 14:04  |  Marvel 23/09/09
  12.   Calm down Bibi... Israel is not the USA`s 51st state. 14:12  |  Erastus CoupeDeVille 23/09/09
  13.   Petra 14:59  |  jake 1948 23/09/09
  14.   Just agree to it 15:31  |  Giora Me`ir 23/09/09
  15.   So the only one holding back negotiations is... 15:33  |  ben 23/09/09
  16.   Sorry Netanyahu 15:55  |  MR C 23/09/09
  17.   Settlements are costing time and peace 16:00  |  Palestinian Brit 23/09/09
  18.   Disseminate Contradictory Information 16:01  |  Yaakov Sullivan 23/09/09
  19.   Israel is batting for Iran 16:03  |  Mathew Hudson 23/09/09
  20.   2 winners and 1 loser 16:04  |  Netter 23/09/09
  21.   Esther- quite the opposite 16:06  |  Yaakov Sullivan 23/09/09
  22.   #8 ivar the only international law applicable is the 16:18  |  Vhardman 23/09/09
  23.   It`s not about the settlements stupid! 16:22  |  Jeff 23/09/09
  24.   America.... 17:01  |  Martin 23/09/09
  25.   Israel gloats 17:05  |  WHG 23/09/09
  26.   The fact is... 17:13  |  Pablo Luis 23/09/09
  27.   Jeff in NY 17:47  |  Stephen Connor 23/09/09
  28.   Stephen 18:43  |  Mary 23/09/09
  29.   SELL THEM THE WEST BANK...as war reparations 18:47  |  jewish DOCTOR 23/09/09
  30.   If Israel is a friend we can rest assured 19:13  |  American in NY 23/09/09
  31.   You all always have something bad to say about 11:19  |  Lin Fei 26/11/09
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