Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
U.S., Israel seek clarity on settlement freeze
Wed Jun 17, 2009 9:41pm EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Adam Entous
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States wants Israel to impose a moratorium on new tenders for building in Jewish settlements in the West Bank but is considering allowances that could permit some projects already under way to proceed, Western and Israeli officials said on Wednesday.
U.S. President Barack Obama's blunt and public call for Israel to halt all settlement activity in the occupied West Bank opened a rare rift between the close allies.
But both sides say they want to work out their differences.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Obama's Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, in Europe next week to try to hammer out an agreement, Israeli officials said.
"That's our goal but we're not there yet," a senior Israeli official said.
Mitchell has said a key element has been trying to pin down exactly what Israel means by the "natural growth" of settlements that Netanyahu has said he will defend. Netanyahu says he wants growing families to be able to accommodate their children in towns that Israelis have built on occupied land.
While firm in demanding a ban on new tenders as part of an overall settlement freeze, Western and Israeli officials said the Obama administration was assessing in which cases continued building could be permitted.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said allowances for continued building could be made if, for example, a project in a settlement was nearing completion or for cases in which money has been invested in a project and cannot be reimbursed.
"There's room for some flexibility in defining what's acceptable in terms of a settlement freeze. Where do you draw the line?" the official said of deliberations within the Obama administration.
After meeting in Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman stuck to their respective positions. Clinton called for a stop to the settlements and Lieberman -- himself a settler -- said Israel cannot accept a freeze in settlements.
But Clinton said discussions were just beginning.
"There are a number of critical concerns, many of which overlap in their impact and significance, that will be explored in the coming weeks as Senator Mitchell engages more deeply into the specifics as to where the Israelis and the Palestinians are willing to go together."
Mitchell travels to Paris on June 25 to meet with Netanyahu, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.
NATURAL GROWTH
The officials said the Obama administration has yet to agree to any exceptions, and stressed that Washington's stated goal of a total freeze in settlement activity, including building in existing blocs to accommodate growing settler families, known as "natural growth," would not change. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
French crash investigation advancing: official
Iran's presidential election
Aftermath of Iran's election
Up-to-the-minute news, photos and video of the aftermath of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed election in Iran. Full Coverage
More International News
Iran set for day of mourning after protest deaths
| Video
North Korea chemical weapons threaten region: report
French crash investigation advancing: official
| Video
Pakistan sought time to act against militants: India
Romanians flee Belfast homes after racist attacks
| Video
More International News...
Video
US and Israel's unsettled question
Play Video
More Video...
Related News
Clinton: U.S. to discuss concerns on Israel settlements
17 Jun 2009
Israeli army eases grip on ancient Jericho
17 Jun 2009
Israelis to free jailed Hamas speaker in August
17 Jun 2009
Featured Broker sponsored link
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Secretary of State Clinton breaks her elbow
Men-only train cars sought in groping fears
Polls find rising concern with Obama on key issues
Microsoft makes gains with Bing
Iran set for day of mourning after protest deaths | Video
First hard evidence found of a lake on Mars
North Korea chemical weapons threaten region: report
Roubini sees weeds amid green shoots | Video
TOPWRAP 1-Upturn seen in China and Japan but caution prevails
UPDATE 4-Microsoft makes gains with Bing, clashes with Google
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Obama unveils bank reform plans
Iranian bloggers upload clash video
US and Israel's unsettled question
Reinventing the wheel
Obama kills a pesky fly
Star-struck teenager sues
Thousands join pro-Mousavi rally
Iranians protest on streets at night
Internet video of Iran protests
Election season in Afghanistan
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
We want to hear from you
Join the Reuters Consumer Insight Panel and help us get to know you better
Please take a moment to complete our survey
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.