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Israeli government seen accepting new settlement freeze
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| Contributor | particleman |
| Last Edited | particleman Nov 14, 2010 11:52am |
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| Category | Speculative |
| Media | News Service - Reuters |
| News Date | Sunday, November 14, 2010 05:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will probably win narrow approval from his coalition government for a U.S. proposal to extend a freeze on West Bank settlement building, Israeli political sources said on Sunday.
The Palestinians halted peace talks after the 10-month Israeli moratorium on settlement construction expired in September. The Obama administration has offered Israel diplomatic and defense perks to renew the freeze for 90 days.
The deal includes a U.S. undertaking not to request a further extension of the freeze, and to veto any attempt by the Palestinians to win U.N. recognition of their state unilaterally. The Obama administration would also ask Congress to approve a $3 billion sale of warplanes to Israel and, should there be peace with the Palestinians, guarantee its wider security needs.
An Israeli political source said the security cabinet vote was expected later this week and that seven ministers -- Netanyahu among them -- were likely to back the U.S. proposal, against six who would vote against and two who would abstain.
In private, Palestinian officials have expressed anger over U.S. incentives to get Israel to prolong the partial moratorium on Jewish settlement building, saying it effectively constituted bribing Israel to fulfill basic international obligations.
Netanyahu has previously said any settlement moratorium will not apply to areas around East Jerusalem, which Israel calls part of its capital -- a status not recognized abroad -- and where Palestinians want to base their own capital. |
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