Middle East Inside Line: Israel and Hamas Manoeuvre on Settlements Policy

Israel Government Moves for Common Line on Settlements: On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would likely reach a final plan with George Mitchell during the American envoy's visit to Israel this week.

Dealing with increasing criticisms from his Likud Party, the Prime Minister held meetings with some Likud cabinet ministers and members of Parliament to get their support for a freeze on construction in the West Bank settlements. Netanyahu's meetings came as Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave partial approval for 500 new housing units to be constructed in the West Bank, with 2000 more to be approved on Monday morning. A source in the Prime Minister's office said Netanyahu did not use the word "moratorium" or "freeze" but described the proposed measure as "reducing the scale of construction".

While the European Union reiterated its call for a "total settlement freeze," Washington sharpened its tone:

Continued settlement activity is inconsistent with Israel's commitment under the road map.... The administration of President Barack Obama does not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement expansion and we urge that it stop. We are working to create a climate in which negotiations can take place, and such actions make it harder to create such a climate.

Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas Stand Tough: On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai told Likud Party members:

The postponement in construction is a strategic delay... We won't give up on building in Jerusalem and will still build hundreds of construction units. We are looking ahead, here.

On the other side, Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal warned Arab states:

There is an Israeli effort to avoid the American demands... We warn against any Arab rush toward normalization.

Middle East Inside Line: Fatah and Israel, US Withdrawal From Iraq to Turkey?, Israel-Sweden Fight (Round 3)

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Fatah Backs Away from Negotiations with Israel: Nabil Shaath, who was re-elected in August to Fatah's central committee and is a former Palestinian prime minister and foreign minister, dismissed a return to negotiations unless Israel endorses freezing of settlements both in the West Bank and East Jerusalem; not temporarily but permanently.

During Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Obama's special envoy George Mitchell in London last week, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, had showed willingness to meet Netanyahu at next month’s UN General Assembly session in New York.

Shaath’s recent statement plays down the importance of this expected meeting, especially if it does not reflect a consensus in the balance of power between the "new blood" and the veterans of Fatah.

Earlier US Withdrawal from Iraq? The Turkish newspaper Milliyet claimed on Monday that the Obama Administration is preparing to announce the withdrawal of American soldiers from Iraq eight months before the official date of August 2010 as a Christmas surprise to Americans.

The article claims that new landing fields and prefabricated houses are being constructed by American soldiers in the Incirlik base in Turkey. A report supposedly posted to Incirlik’s 39th Wing Commandership is calling for immediate preparations for the intake of 100,000 of the 142,000 US forces in Iraq.

Milliyet asserts that some high-ranking American soldiers believe the plans are not being disclosed because of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s insistence that the earlier withdrawal will prompt greater instability in his country.

Iraq - "Shoe Thrower" Al-Zaidi to Go Free: Iraqi journalist Muntazar al-Zaidi, will be released on 14 December 2009, exactly one year after he threw his shoes at President George W. Bush, after his three-year sentence was reduced for good behavior.

The Israel-Sweden Fight: Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt denied Haaretz's report that Sweden would work with Italy to pass a resolution condemning anti-Semitism at an upcoming European foreign ministers meeting.

The Swedish news agency TT reports the statement of the Swedish foreign ministry's head of communications, Cecilia Julin: "From the Swedish side we have no plans to handle this question through the informal foreign ministers' meeting in Stockholm." She added Bildt's suggestion that Italy Foreign Minister Frattini's comment must have arisen through an "Italian misunderstanding".

Swedish President Fredrik Reinfeldt also contributed to the discussion at a press conference in Stockholm. He said, "We cannot be asked by anyone to contravene the Swedish constitution, and this is something we will also not do within the European Union."

Israel's unofficial threat is on the table now. Bildt is supposed to visit Israel on September 11 for a one-day visit. According to Israeli diplomatic officials, "it would cast a serious cloud over the trip and Sweden's efforts to play a significant role in the diplomatic process" if there is no condemnation of the "stolen Palestianian organs" story from the Swedish side.