It is a good thing that Prime Minister Netanyahu held his ground on discussions of a complete settlement freeze, because that requirement is now off the table. President Barack Obama said that Israel has had meaningful discussions regarding settlement restrictions and a complete freeze is no longer a US requirement for peace discussions.
“Simply put, it is past time to talk about starting negotiations. It is time to move forward… It is time to show the flexibility and common sense and sense of compromise that is necessary to achieve our goals.” Obama said.
A Palestinian aid told the media that “Obama told Abbas that he couldn’t get the settlement freeze and promised to keep trying, but that it shouldn’t be a condition for talks and it was time to move on.”
Israelis agreed that only “natural growth” would take place in the settlements. I think that the ultimate settlement status will allow annexation of large settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria, namely Gush Etzion and Jerusalem area towns. But for now, Israelis have secured the most vital settlement growth policy.
An Israeli diplomat said that ”a complete settlement freeze wasn’t physically or politically possible, especially in the absence of any Arab or Palestinian concessions. There was a time the gaps had significantly narrowed, but now they were starting to widen. The administration recognized, rather than have them widen further, we should start negotiating.”
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