Dennis Ross, top National Security Council Middle East strategist, is in Israel trying to resolve settlement freeze issues prior to peace talks in Washington that are set to begin next week. Ross is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and lead Israeli negotiator Yitzhak Molcho.
Netanyahu has publicly insisted that there should be no preconditions on the direct talks. Ross’s visit could be about helping to clarify what Netanyahu may agree to ahead of the talks, and what he might consider agreeing to after he hears from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and President Obama next week, former U.S. peace negotiator Aaron Miller suggested.
Avigdor Lieberman, whose ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party is a major partner in the governing coalition, told Israel Radio he realized that resuming settlement construction would antagonize both the U.S. and the Palestinians. But he said that maintaining tight restrictions on building would “punish” tens of thousands of Israelis living in the settlements.
Lieberman’s comments added a powerful voice to a debate that is having deep repercussions for the U.S.-backed peace process. A 10-month moratorium on most West Bank construction expires Sept. 26 and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under heavy pressure to allow building to resume.
