Netanyahu urges top ministers to extend settlement freeze
PM to convene inner cabinet on Tuesday for vote on a 60-day moratorium in exchange for U.S. guarantees.
By Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid and Haaretz ServicePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his forum of top ministers on Tuesday afternoon to debate extending Israel's moratorium on construction in West Bank settlements for 60 days.
The concession would be made in exchange for a series of reported U.S. guarantees in Israel's direct peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Israel halted construction temporarily for 10 months, a freeze that ended on September 26.
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Construction work in Elazar, a settlement in the Gush Etzion bloc, in July 2010. |
| Photo by: AP |
The Palestinians have said they would not continue the recently renewed negotiations unless Israel agreed to halt construction again. The Obama administration has urged Israel to reconsider its refusal of that demand.
If Netanyahu succeeds in convincing the Forum of Seven to accept an extension of the construction freeze, he plans to bring the matter to the political-security cabinet for a vote later Tuesday.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak (Labor) and Intelligence and Atomic Energy Minister Dan Meridor (Likud) are expected to support Netanyahu's position, while Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu) is likely to present the greatest opposition.
Netanyahu is pinning his hopes now on Ministers Benny Begin (Likud), Moshe Ya'alon (Likud) and Eli Yishai (Shas). The prime minister has already met with Begin over the last few days in an attempt to convince him to change his previously expressed opposition to extending the freeze.
The prime minister has an interest in reaching a cabinet decision on the matter before the Arab League follow-up committee meets in Libya on Friday to deliver its own stance on whether peace negotiations should continue.
Secretary of State Hilary Clinton spoke on Sunday with Netanyahu in an effort to reach a solution to the settlements construction deadlock.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley defined the conversation as “very constructive”, refusing to get into details.
“They discussed ideas on a path forward”, he said. “We continue to encourage the parties and consult with the parties on a path forward. We recognize that this is difficult. We are facing an obstacle that immediately confronts us. We know there will be others as we move through this. But we will maintain our intensive dialogue with the parties in the coming days”.
Crowley would not comment directly on whether Netanyahu would raise the moratorium extension to ministers the next day.
Netanyahu told ministers earlier Monday that Israel and the United States were holding behind-the-scenes talks geared at resolving a recent deadlock in Middle East peace talks with the Palestinians, adding that peace was Israel's vital interest.
The prime minister said that Israel was "in the midst of sensitive diplomatic contacts with the U.S. administration in order to find a solution that will allow the continuation of the talks."
"We will quietly consider the situation and the complex reality away from the spotlights," the premier said, advising fellow cabinet members to be "patient, act responsibly, calmly and - above all - quietly. This is exactly what we must do."
Netanyahu also reiterated his commitment to the latest round of direct peace talks, saying that Israel had fully "lived up to our commitment, a difficult commitment that we took upon ourselves"
"Now there is interest in continuing the peace negotiations," the premier added, saying peace was "a vital interest for the State of Israel."
Netanyahu's comments came as a report by the London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awsat quoted Israeli officials as saying earlier Monday that Netanyahu had agreed to extend Israel's freeze on settlement construction by two months.
The Asharq al-Awsat report came amid recent claims that U.S. President Barack Obama had offered Netanyahu an incentive package in exchange for keeping settlement construction at bay, a move which could quell Palestinian concerns over settlement building and consequently bring them back to the negotiations table.
According to Israeli sources quoted in the report, Netanyahu expressed his preliminary approval to extend Israel's moratorium on settlement building, adding that he conditioned such a move on a list of U.S. assurances, which included a continued IDF presence in the Jordan valley and continued U.S. political and military support.
Sources quoted in the Asharq al-Awsat piece also said Netanyahu claimed that the assurances listed would aid him in the face of the widespread internal opposition expected to such a move.
Speaking at a meeting of Likud ministers which took place shortly before a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Monday, Netanyahu made a possible reference to the Asharq al-Awsat report, saying that the time was not ripe "for issuing statements."
"We have no interest in causing an uproar, Neither do I have the possibility of denying the baseless media report," Netanyahu said, adding that he had "an interest in responding calmly and responsibly in order to advance the diplomatic process."
Last week, the White House denied that Obama sent Netanyahu a letter proposing a set of U.S. guarantees to Israel in exchange for Israel extending a freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank for another two months.
"No letter was sent to the Prime Minister. We are not going to comment on sensitive diplomatic matters,” said Benjamin Chang, the deputy spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
It is not clear, however, whether Obama could have made the offer via means other than a letter.
Obama's letter was said to include a long list of American favors in exchange for an extension of the settlement building freeze, which ended this week. Most of these favors are critical to Israel's strategic security needs that Netanyahu has been demanding for years.
Other commitments that Obama reportedly offered Netanyahu in the letter include an agreement not to ask for any more building freeze extensions, an agreement to veto any anti-Israel UN Security Council resolution in the next year, and an agreement that the future fate of the settlements be dealt with only as part of a final status agreement with the Palestinians.
Obama's letter was said to include additional commitments, including a series of guarantees to prevent the smuggling of weapons and missiles into a Palestinian state, a lengthy period of interim security arrangements in the Jordan Valley and a comprehensive regional defense pact for protection from Iran to follow the establishment of the Palestinian state.
The American president also reportedly vowed to upgrade Israel's security capabilities and increase the three billion dollar security aid package that Israel receives annually. The letter included commitments to advanced weapons and early warning systems, including satellites.
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Israeli troops in the Jordan Valley is a Palestinian point to negotiate. This shows how dishonest the US is as a broker
These so called guarantees are outrageous. I hope this all blows up in Obama's face. It's not much of a State if the US supports the IDF presence. Better to let the UN be the military presence.
This so-called package will not protect Israeli lives from Arab terror coming for the new terror state created in the name of 'peace'.
Obama's promises are just nothing worth. Why 2 months? Because of the US elections only. Does Obama agree on the signed letters of Bush and Clinton? NO Does Obama accept the formula of defensible borders as all US presidents have? NO Does Obama refuses the return of Palestinian refugee's as all US presidents have? NO Obama promises are empty, do not accept Bibi;
Sounds like a good deal to me, especially if includes no further freezes. TWO MONTHS, people. It's nothing.
I wince a bit for America to have to bribe Israel yet again to do the right thing. And I am a little bothered by the suggestion that a two month extension that Obama is trying to purchase is just enough to keep the semi-phony negotiations going past the US elections. I hope that is not the motivation. My own view is that once rejected by Netanyahu, the US proposal should have been presented to the Palestinians with a couple of sweeteners those sugar deprived people could use. Diabetic Israel deserves nothing more!
Bibi is selling a terrible product but you have to admire his cunning. In this case he is playing on the corrupted USA political system, where money and lobbies are more powerful than supposed 'American values'. When I heard of what Obama was offering for basically nothing (Bibi can mess around with the peace talks for 2 months) it sounded like it would be music to him. But he also waited a few days to humiliate Obama too. Very clever. Now he can up the aid, has Obama never asking for a moratorium again, backing Israel more blindly than already (if possible), and a whole load of weaponry and other promises, for not building for 2 months in the 'proposed' Palestine (not in his lifetime ?). For a dodgy salesman this is remarkable.
Abbas and the PLO went ballistic when they learned from the news media that for a 2-month "extension" (entirely to help Obama politically in November) Obama was promising Israel a long-term security presence in the Jordan Valley to prevent arms smuggling into the demilitarized PA state. Mitchell had to issue a shrill public denial to calm them down, announcing that there was "no letter of guarantees to Israel" (because it was a "draft"). And the PLO have since completely shut up about the list of guarantees, including the Jordan security presence, instead of continuing their usual hysterical public temper tantrums. WHY? Because Obama has assured them that he made no such binding promises to Israel, and that the PLO will have to approve any Israeli security presence in the Jordan Valley, that the Israelis will have to "negotiate" for it, and that US "support" for Israel's demands didn't mean that they would untimately happen. Every one of the Obama "guarantees" will be sleazily worded in the final "letter" to give Obama a back door escape. As the American voters have learned, this is exactly how Obama operates - when he's called out by voters here on all the commitments and promises he has blatantly violated, his response is always that, no, he didn't break any promise, but that "You just didn't understand me". Any Israeli leader who accepts an Obama promise is a fool - just ask any American.
inducements are still on the table after their initial rejection. Perhaps (hopefully) what the PM is responding to is the implied sticks that were in the offer. e.i. the opposite of what suggested in the draft.
Seems like the US will be giving way more than needed to Israel just for 2 months of a settlement freeze. I wonder what kind of freeze will it be. Will it be the same as the partial construction freeze? Because if that's the case, then looks like Israel really is winning: it gets all these great guarantees, MORE than 3 billion dollars of annual military aid (3 billion isn't enough apparently) and still gets to build in certain areas. What a deal! Bibi would be stupid to reject this. And the Palestinians well, they seem to never get any of these wonderful guarantees.
(1) Why does America have to pay Israel to do things that are in Israels own interest? Isn't peace in Israels interest? (2) Doesn't all the money, weapons, and political support given gratis by America to Israel every year count for anything at all? Every time we turn around, America is giving things of value to Israel in exchange for nothing. We are giving weapons to Israel which are used to kill Arab civilians even while America is bribing Israel to make peace with those same Arabs. Wouldn't it be more consistent and wise for America to stop flooding Israel with weapons if America wants peace? Israel has its own weapons industry and sells weapons to the world at a profit. There is no shortage of weapons in Israel. Won't this huge surplusage of weapons affect how Israel approaches peace and foreign policy? America is the real problem for mideast peace.
BULL....whatever Obama offers is coming our way anyways. What we want is SOMETHING from Abu Mazen...not Obama. It's time for Abu to step up to the plate, we did for 10 months. Your time is up Abu....Strike or Homerun !
Your problems do not come from the Obama administration. So, the Republicans will not help you once they get in office. Here in the US we are closing schools and doing without other vital services. No one views Israel's occupation or the settlements as legitimate. I've let my representatives know that I will vote for anyone else if they continue to reward Israel for building illegal settlements.
But I can only remind myself we are talking about U$A... I do not doubt people on the coasts are agreeing with you. Yet, I doubt the Bible Belt feels the same. When you are expecting the end of the world and that this end is to come only when all Jews are back in the "Holy Land", you tend to support Israel's policy blindly...
You are entitled to your opinion. But most Americans support Israel in their conflict with the Arabs
The govt spent over a million dollars changing the font size of NYC street signs and your moaning about this? Israel supplies improvised nations with medicine and could have save Christopher Reeves back. It's people like you who ignore what Israel does so that you can buy another burger a Mc Donald's.
Gibberish - Israel is being helped because it is important for the US
Funny, nobody seems to pay much attention to THAT! Egypt gets nearly as much money as ISRAEL! The EGYPTIANS are using that to re-establish relations with IRAN and to help the MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD TO OUST MUBAREK!
bad move, very bad move and sends a terrible message to those who support Israel and her right to possess the land.
I certainly support the Israeli's right to posses land in Israel, the internationally recognised Israel that is.
I hate to say it as an American, but it as least as true now under Obama as it has ever been. It makes no sense for Israel to give anything up in exchange for worthless promises from Palestinians or from the US State Dept. Just keep building.
the absolute WORST that could happen for israel: they have to delay building settlements until december (the horror!), while getting an additional billion $$$ from daddy america, in addition to billions in free arms AND a guarantee from america to defend whatever stupid sh*t israel does at the UN. if israel does not accept the package, they'll get to start building immediately and, let's face it, america already defends all the stupid sh*t they do at the UN anyways. israel cannot lose this. they have shoved the world into a corner and are now determining whether to loot its pockets or just rape it.
Bibi serves who?
To settlers like you, he is a anti-zionist. See where that places you? Not to the far-right, but to the far-nutcase...
If Netanyahu will pay to the blackmailers this time, the the next chantage will regard Jerusalem and then -"refugees". And Netanyahu will pay both. So, the State of Israel as a State of Jewish people will disappear approximately in 2020.
A bunch of pro-Israel people in the U.S. government ramping up aid to Israel under the guise of promoting peace. Next step is a Syria deal, then an attempt to force Palestinians to emigrate, perhaps to America. Israel is causing it's own demise.
Polls have shown that Israelis are as right-wing was they were when they voted by a large majority for right-wing parties in the 2009 elections. As time has passed, however, Netanyahu has moved further and further left of the Israeli public. If these trends continue, holding all things equal, the Israeli public will soon find that Lieberman is closest to their political leanings. And for those of you who wan't to dislike this statement: please do the intellectual rather than childish thing. Instead of simply pressing the thumbs down, please present a reasoned counter argument to the facts presented here and the conclusion drawn from these facts.
I so desperately want to see Israel elect Lieberman as the next PM. I really hope the Israeli public keeps swinging further to the right. It will be an absolute pleasure to watch the whole world finally treat this pariah state for what it is. Boycotts, Divestment, Sanctions...Oh My!
I told you all the sequence of events: the freeze would be halted. The Palestinians would threaten to stop negotiating. The US would increase pressure. The Israelis show toughness. In a few weeks they would bow. The next step is setting up borders. This time, folks, negotiations are for real. Time to pack and move back home. The party is over.
I wouldn't bet the farm on it. Not when there remains more Pal land to be stolen.
Over the millenia, the Jews learned to circumvent laws of their Lands, which in any case were intended to cause them harm. This was a good strategy for survival. In modern times, it took a while for the Jews to learn to respect local laws, even for Israelis living in the Jewish state of Israel. This process is not yet complete. As far as international law, the state of Israel is only at the beginning stages of adaptation to the fact that international law is a positive thing and that the State should learn to obey it. Only now, following the Goldstone Report, is some serious recognition given to laws of war, and procedures are established so that it will be followed. The settlement enterprise was from its very beginning following the '67 war an ILLEGAL enterprise, contrary to the Geneva convention. Initially, under the Labor government, the intent was to establish just a few settlements that will help control the West Bank militarily. But things grew from there. Under Likud, beginning 1977, all dams broke down. The Israeli Supreme Court could not stop the flood of settlements because the Knesset never passed a law making Geneva Convention the Law of the Land, so they only imposed the earlier Hague Convention (1907), plus the government voluntary decision to obey Geneva as far as individual rights of the Palestinians. A good guide for Israel would have been to simply obey international laws. There would have been no settlements and no settlers. Please, God, can you turn time back?
Can we keep him out...?
The 49-67 Green line was a cease fire line never a recognized International border (Arabs refused) therefor the building is not beyond the recognized border so it is not a violation of law unless you change the facts. That said lets leave the Court room and find peace
A FOOL and his country are soon parted.....DK
1. Going to war for Israel 2. Susidizing Isrrael with over 10 billion $ of economic and military aid, equalling over $15,000 per Israeli citizen 3. Vetoing UN resolutions against the will of the free world, and our concience 4 What we get back...Give us more 5. Israel is not interested in peace, but continue raoing our country.
Netanyahu is not going to sign a deal based on anything close to 67 greenline even with land swap. His ideal of 2 states is PA getting only A areas and Gaza with no refugees returning to Israel, which is a non starter for Arab League or Quartet.
1 Obama is not trustworthy 2 After the Nov elections, Obama will be a lot weaker than he already is 3 Let the Arabs give in for once.
Either Obama is pointlessly lying, or there is no letter. Let's assume there is no letter. Then Netanyahu agrees to this draconian two month extension of the freeze-that-isn't. ...but the US won't honor that ridiculous list of guarantees it supposedly offered in exchange. It'll take the crazy attitude that it never offered any such list. Oh well. We tried...
The israeli/Palestinian conflict will only be solved by imposing a peace treaty followed by disengagement on the U.S. side. It does not make sense for America to have presence in many Arab countries and be friend to Israel at the same time. There is something wrong there and the current administration is getting to recognize it. It is never too late to disengage from full unquestionable support to Israel. Time has come for a real change for the sake of Free America.
moratorium on construction in West Bank settlements for 60 days?.
would a peace deal bought by US money last any longer than the next two months of settlement freeze? Palestinians must feel betrayed by Obama and his prostitute Netanyahu....
At last we are seeing the benefit of having a US President who will actively work for peace for Israel. The two state solution gets closer every day, and all must join in the pressure needed to see it to its conclusion. There can be no turning back, now we are so close.
If we continue construction now, Abbas will drag yes-no for two month, and after November elections BHO will put the heat on Israel. If we freeze settlements, after two month nobody will remember our gesture, and BHO will pressure us just the same.
no no no no no. clinton wake up you are an embarassment to americans
Everything seems to now in the hands of Bibi at this stage. I hope he uses his intelligence, ask the nay sayers to jump in the lake, and do his utmost to achieve peace for the people in the region. So far he has been disappointing.
The freeze should last 60 years when a new generation of Jews will realise just how wrong they were.
Only 39% support it. This according to a Dahaf poll taken just the other day. And most Likud Ministers support the majority who oppose it. It's time to build again.
Israel has got enough weapos from Usa. Give the palistinians exactly the same weapons. They need to defence it's selfe too !!
All those sweeteners for a lousy 2 month extension! Netanyahu must be chuckling his socks off behind closed doors!
Obama is trying to help the Palestinians, even if he is not acting too strongly yet, perhaps because of the coming US elections. Instead of causing more trouble for Obama, and instead of having him make unprecedented concessions to Israel now, the Arabs should offer Obama that they will continue direct negotiations for 3 (not only 2) months, in return for a fraction of what he was willing to pay Israel to do for a 2 months extension: A little more financial support to build their state, not pressuring them to agree to another extension, and not vetoing any Security Council decision that is in their favor in the coming year, including admittance of an independent Palestinian state to the UN. If in 3 months Israel and the PA agree on the final borders, settlements can resume in the Israeli section. Such an offer by the PA will show Israelis how terribly foolish was Netanyahu in rejecting the SS offer; not only did Israel lose great benefits because of the settlements, but the Palestinians also gained a great deal.
America should dump Israel, the sooner the better.