Israel-Palestine: Arab League Gives Talks One More Month (Sanders)

Looks like EA's Ali Yenidunya was spot-on in his prediction. Arab League ministers did not set down an immediate ultimatum on Friday over the Israel-Palestine talks, even though West Jerusalem has not agreed to extend the moratorium on settlement expansion in the West Bank, but delayed a decision for a month.

Edward Sanders writes in the Los Angeles Times:

Arab League members decided Friday to give the Obama administration one more month to get faltering Mideast peace talks back on track, but they also said they support a Palestinian threat to quit direct talks unless Israel reverses itself on resuming West Bank settlement construction.

The Arab League decision, announced at a meeting in Libya, gives U.S. negotiators more time to resolve the current standoff and solicit support for their proposal to renew Israel's partial construction moratorium, which expired Sept. 26.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who previously said he would make a final decision on whether to quit talks after consulting Arab leaders, has signaled in recent days that he would accept the U.S. proposal to renew the settlement moratorium for two to three months.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not agreed, seeking clarification of the terms of the compromise. The U.S. plan reportedly includes such incentives as increased military aid for Israel and support for certain Israeli positions on borders and security.

The standoff is starting to take a toll on Netanyahu's political standing at home, where conservatives don't want him to renew the freeze and liberals and moderates warn he should not allow the peace process to collapse.

A poll published Friday in Israel's Yediot Aharonot newspaper found 47% of respondents viewed the prime minister's performance unfavorably, while 40% approved. That's a reversal from June, when 52% approved and 40% disapproved.

In an apparent bid to boost his support among conservatives, Netanyahu is calling for his Cabinet to endorse a new law Sunday that would require non-Jews to pledge their loyalty to Israel as a "Jewish, democratic state" to become citizens. The idea, popular with right-wing parties, is being attacked by some as discriminatory and provocative.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank city of Hebron, Israel's military early Friday killed two Palestinian militants suspected in an August drive-by shooting that killed four Israelis near a Jewish settlement.

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