Israel mulling settlement freeze deal with U.S.
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The Israeli security cabinet on Wednesday continued to delay a vote on a recent U.S. proposal to extend the West Bank construction moratorium, following disagreements with the Obama administration over content and the extent of limitations.
Officials said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on obtaining written guarantees that "reflect the understandings reached" with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Only then he will bring the proposal to the cabinet and ask it to vote on the matter.
"If a written document is received, there will be a freeze. No document means no freeze," a source close to Israeli government told Xinhua on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.
Clinton last Thursday presented Netanyahu with a proposal to extend the freeze on construction in the West Bank settlements for 90 days in order to enable the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
In exchange, Israel would receive a military and diplomatic incentives package, including 20 F-35 jet fighters and U.S. vetoing of anti-Israel decisions in the United Nations and other international forums.
Netanyahu on Saturday brought the proposal to his senior ministers upon returning from his U.S. visit. It was met with fierce opposition at cabinet meeting, with some hard-line Likud ministers vowing to derail it. Israeli media reported that cabinet ministers conditioned their support of the proposal on receiving the U.S. guarantees in an official written draft.
In a clear message of the way Netanyahu perceived the proposal made in New York, the premier's bureau reportedly issued early Wednesday a statement denying that discussions with Clinton had mentioned the prospect of extending the moratorium to East Jerusalem.
"Discussions with the United States to formulate a memorandum of understanding did not tackle the issue of Jerusalem," local daily Ha'aretz quoted the statement as saying.
However, in response to a Xinhua inquiry, a spokesman from the Prime Minister's Office denied such a statement was issued.
Israel considers Jerusalem as its "undivided" capital, and claims that construction in the eastern part of the city is a separate issue from the West Bank settlements building. In the meantime, the Palestinians insist building their future state with East Jerusalem as the capital.
In a bid to soften the opposition, Netanyahu also reportedly told his cabinet ministers that the U.S. will not demand another freeze following the expiration of the 90-day extension.
In a vague statement made on Tuesday, U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said "we're prepared to do everything we can to create the conditions for both the Palestinians and the Israelis to return to direct negotiations."
"Our message to both is the same: get back to direct negotiations, work through the core issues and get to a just, fair and equitable settlement and agreement within 12 months," Crowley said.
While the disagreement with the U.S. mainly focuses on East Jerusalem, another point of contention is Netanyahu's demand that negotiations concerning the borders of a future Palestinian state would not be held separately from other core issues.
"Israel refuses to discuss borders while neglecting security arrangements, a Palestinian recognition of Israel as the national home of the Jewish people, and a Palestinian declaration that a peace agreement would end the conflict," the source said.
He said that U.S. guarantees in writing would mean a " substantial achievement for Netanyahu."
Israeli officials on Tuesday also attributed the delay in receiving the written draft from the Americans to the Palestinians ' objection to the benefits Israel stands to gain.
"The Palestinians claim that the understandings reached between Clinton and Netanyahu are too good for Israel and deny them of pressure means," the official source told Xinhua.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat rebuffed the accusations, saying they were "just part of the regular Israeli tactics in the blame game."
"The Israelis know our position. We will negotiate beginning with borders and security," Erekat told Israeli Army Radio on Tuesday.
Despite the current disagreement with the U.S. administration, Israeli officials estimate that the differences between the two allies will be bridged shortly. However, once the written draft is received, Netanyahu is still expected to face an uphill battle in convincing his coalition partners to vote in favor of the deal.
Sources told Xinhua that Netanyahu on Wednesday met with Eli Yishai and Ariel Atias, two ministers from the ultra-religious Shas party, whose support is now critical to the expected passing of the freeze deal in the cabinet.
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