News Saturday, 27 March 2010
Israel seeks to mend fences with U.S., but settlement plan still on Tanks move into Gaza after four die in bloodiest clash in more than a year Israel insisted on Friday it would not change its policy of building homes in East Jerusalem, but vowed to end disagreement with the Obama administration on how to renew stalled peace talks with Palestinians. The statement on Jerusalem came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened senior cabinet ministers to consider confidence-building steps for reviving negotiations, as proposed by U.S. officials while Netanyahu was in Washington this week. "Israeli construction policy in Jerusalem has remained the same for 42 years and isn't changing," a written statement from Netanyahu's spokesman, Nir Hefez, said, suggesting Israeli cabinet ministers would not budge on that particular policy. The diplomatic spat drew a surge of rocket and mortar attacks from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, which Israel answered with airstrikes. There were few casualties in the exchanges. But Israeli tanks advanced into Gaza on Friday after the worst clash with Palestinians in 14 months killed two on each side. Sparring over settlements risks jeopardizing Israel's vital ties with the United States, its biggest ally. Yet Netanyahu has to balance these concerns with the possibility his pro-settler coalition may fall apart if he bows to U.S. demands. Friday's cabinet meeting adjourned without decisions. "The prime minister set further discussion in the forum for the coming days, as well as continued contacts with the U.S. administration in order to reach an agreed path for getting the diplomatic process moving," Hefez said. The United States was circumspect on prospects for an imminent breakthrough. "We'll continue our contacts informally with the parties. "But we'll probably go through a period now of a week to 10 days where everyone's kind of assessing where we are and still trying to construct the most effective path forward," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.
Source: By Allyn Fisher-Ilan, ReutersMarch 27, 2010