Posted on 09/22/2009 2:35:54 AM PDT by Saije
Ahead of the Obama administration's first U.S.-Palestinian-Israeli summit, Israel has agreed to a partial freeze of settlement construction for six to nine months but still wants to build more than 2,500 new housing units, said Israeli officials...
The private Israeli position, which was described by these three individuals on the condition that they not be named, is at odds with the public stance Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken...
What the Israelis are offering is still shy of Mr. Obama's demands. The two Israeli officials and the Israel specialist said Mr. Netanyahu wants to move forward with 2,500 to 3,000 housing units already approved and to exempt East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians foresee as a future capital, from the freeze...
Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, Mr. Obama's envoy on the Arab-Israeli conflict, has been shuttling for months to try to choreograph simultaneous concessions by both sides.
A U.S. official, speaking on the condition that he not be named because the negotiations are continuing, said Mr. Mitchell has received private assurances from some Gulf Arab and North African states to grant over-flight rights to Israeli jets, open interest sections in Israel and end a travel ban against Israelis if Israel freezes settlement construction. Saudi Arabia, guardian of Islam's holiest sites, has not agreed to these steps absent a peace agreement.
"Thus far, the Arabs have stiffed Obama and the Israelis in their own exquisite way are stiffing him," said Aaron David Miller, a former senior Middle East adviser to six U.S. secretaries of state. "He is not getting a comprehensive settlement freeze. In fact, over the next 18 months, it may look like a construction boom; 2,500 to 3,000 new units is a lot of construction and to boot the Israelis will never agree to anything on Jerusalem."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Hehe, a ‘partial freeze’ of 2500 units. Oh you wascelly Zionists :0)
Covenant with Sheol
If youd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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You... you... you mean, it takes more than a nicely written speech read from a teleprompter to achieve peace?!?!? Whoda thunk it????
Wutamaroon. Gets ‘em every time.
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