Netanyahu: Israel must ease restrictions on Palestinians

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet ministers on Sunday that Israel must ease the restrictions on the Palestinian public living in the West Bank.

At the weekly cabinet meeting, the prime minister said "I think we need to make a big effort, within the given security constraints, to make things easier for the Palestinians." Netanyahu added that Israel will try to minimize what he termed "bureaucratic red tape" in order to boost the Palestinian economy.

Netanyahu continued and said that economic growth and financial relief for the West Bank Palestinians are in no way a substitute for diplomatic efforts. "If both sides can show willingness, we can progress forward faster than one might think," he said. "We mean business. But, if there is no cooperation we will continue to busy ourselves with solving problems."

Defense Minister Ehud Barak also addressed the issue at the cabinet meeting, saying that the Israel Defense Forces were already considering the calculated risk surrounding the easing of the restrictions currently in place in the West Bank.

Netanyahu's toned down remarks come ahead of scheduled meetings with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and with Jordanian King Abdullah II, both of which will be followed by a planned meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington next week.

A source close to Netanyahu said on Saturday that the premier would tell Mubarak and Abdullah that the Iranian regime was attempting to use nuclear weapons to impose its agenda on the region, and that it could be stopped by working together.

Netanyahu is scheduled to arrive on Monday at Sharm el-Sheikh, where he will meet with Mubarak in the presidential compound. Netanyahu will be joined by Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, who is on good terms with Mubarak and Egyptian intelligence chief General Omar Suleiman. Ben-Eliezer has been sending messages to Cairo on Netanyahu's behalf over the past few weeks.

Netanyahu's bureau has been discussing possible dates for a meeting with King Abdullah. The meeting may be held on Wednesday or on Friday morning.