Posted on 10/27/2011 5:37:48 AM PDT by SJackson
US Ambassador Dan Shapiro tells Yishai construction freeze will help counter Palestinian UN bid; interior minister: No Israeli government has frozen settlements, and neither will we.
Israel denied a request by the United States on Thursday to temporarily freeze settlement construction in order to promote peace talks with the Palestinians.
In a meeting with Interior Minister Eli Yishai, US Ambassador Dan Shapiro requested the freeze - a repeated Palestinian precondition for negotiations - in order to bolster political goodwill as the US tries to counter Palestinian efforts to seek full UN membership.
RELATED: 38 MKs to PM: Don't raze settlements on Palestinian land US criticizes Israel over settlement committee
Shapiro promised that the United States would veto such efforts regardless of Israel's decision on settlements.
According to Army Radio, Yishai replied that no Israeli government had given in to the request to freeze settlements in the past, and that there was no reason for the current government to do so now.
Earlier in the month, the United States criticized a Likud-sponsored plan to legalize rogue settlement outposts, saying it does not recognize the "legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity."
"We oppose any effort to legalize settlement outposts, which is unhelpful to our peace efforts and would contradict Israeli commitments and obligations," a statement from the US State Department said.
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Time to give up on it Barry, didn't work the one time you pushed Israel into submission, it won't work now.
I would have told Hillary and Barack “No” in a lot less diplomatic language.
How about pushing the Palis into a terror freeze? Nine measly little months. Go for it.
I’d like a tax freeze (and then lower taxes). I’d like a moratorium against the attack on my liberties freeze. I’d like a freeze against Obamas “executive orders”. I’d like a freeze on government waste. I’d like a freeze on the US telling Israel what they should do when we are our government and politicians prove everyday how clueless they are.
Nothing will promote peace with the Palestinians. Nothing. They don’t want Peace, they want Israel destroyed to the last man.
Next time they attack Israel stop farting around and run them back to Syria or Egypt, clean out the Gaza strip and take it back.
It is like a merry go-round with the State department and the Palestinians. Israel was asked to freeze settlements 3 years ago to help “peace talks”. They froze them for 10 months. The Palestinians would not meet with the Israelis one time during that freeze. Why should they try this same BS again?
Palestinians have to put up. They went to the UN and bypassed negotiations entirely. They want to make up the rule of the game as they go along, ignoring their commitments. This makes them even more untrustworthy than they were before. Israel would be foolish to try this nonsense again.
At least Hamas traded a prisoner.. what is the PLO offering?
They're offering to "resettle" another 500 prisoners including Marwan Barghoti (sp) who they insist be released as a condition of talks.
Hmm... have the old guard finally come around to the idea that Marwan Barghouti will be their next leader? I know he was critical of many of the old guard and for a while I think even Arafat preferred he stay in prison. But being in prison has made him popular with the people, so perhaps they want to release him to make them look good politically.
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