Clash With U.S. Over Terms Of Settlement Freeze Stalls Cabinet Vote

[Purveyor]

Disagreements with the U.S. administration are delaying the inner cabinet from discussing and voting on a potential settlement freeze. The letter outlines U.S. guarantees to persuade Israel to agree to a three-month moratorium on settlement construction.

As of Tuesday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's envoy for the peace process, Isaac Molho, was conducting marathon talks with senior advisers to U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over the text of the letter, so that it could be brought before the inner cabinet on Wednesday.

Most of the disagreement concerns the American desire to remain vague over whether it will seek another freeze in three months' time. The Americans would like the text to say that progress over the next three months would render another freeze unnecessary.

With regard to the guarantees, 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."

Crowley added: "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." As with the previous construction freeze, the Americans will not ask Israel to stop building in East Jerusalem, but will not say so publicly or in writing.

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