Israel-Palestine: Netanyahu's "Gestures" After Talks with Mitchell (Yenidunya)

After his contact with US special envoy George Mitchell, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that as part of the indirect talks he would be open to a "frank exchange of views" regarding the core issues. Thus the Netanyahu Government looks towards direct talks after agreement on common points on core issues, especially on borders.

Israel-Palestine: Washington’s Carrots and Sticks for Netanyahu and Abbas (Yenidunya)

Meanwhile, Israel is aiming to satisfy both Washington and Ramallah through the  "gesture" of  a de facto freeze on construction in the eastern sector of Jerusalem.


Although Netanyahu has said repeatedly that East Jerusalem will remain under Israeli sovereignty, Jerusalem Councilman Meir Margalit of the dovish Meretz Party said on Monday that top Jerusalem officials told him that Netanyahu's office had ordered a halt to building. The shift occurredafter Washington expressed anger over the construction plans announced during US.Vice President Joe Biden's visit. Margalit added that the committees that deal with construction are not even meeting anymore.

Despite Haaretz's report in January that dozens of settlements in the West Bank were going through a building boom, the Netanyahu Government is claiming "progress" after the most recent meeting with Mitchell. Israel Defense Forces troops on Tuesday destroyed at least 10 Jewish structures in the West Bank as a requirement of the Prime Minister's declaration of a 10-month-freeze in expansion.