According to the London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi, Ramallah --- noting the recent US "incentives" offered to Israel to get a three-month extension of the freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank --- is also seeking its own American package.
The Obama administration is being asked to increase funds for the Palestinians and to spell out a "political commitment" for an agreement on the border issue within three months. The Palestinian Authority also wants Washington's assurance that it will deal with the issue of Palestinian refugees, compensating them through an international fund that would involve most countries in the region, including Israel.
Meanwhile, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's envoy Isaac Molho conducts talks over the draft of the American offer, a disagreement has apparently arisen. Reports from West Jerusalem indicate that the US, which supposedly was promising that it will not seek another extension of the settlement moratorium, wants the text to say that progress over the next three months will render another freeze unnecessary. Such language will give the Americans a loophole: they can ask for another freeze if common ground is not found on the border issue.
If true, it is another move beyond a simple US appeal, on bended knee, to Israel. Washington, having put out its package for what seemed a relatively limited concession, is now putting on a bit of pressure. The Obama Administration, like others, is already anticipating the question: even if Netanyahu can get his Cabinet to agree on the three-month freeze, what happens on the 91st day?