Güncelleme Tarihi:
Under pressure from U.S. President Barack Obama, Netanyahu this week publicly accepted for the first time the internationally backed goal of Palestinian statehood, but set a series of pre-conditions that were rejected by the Palestinians.Â
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Netanyahu has refused to accept Obama's direct call for a full settlement freeze in the Israeli-occupied
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has demanded a halt to all building, including natural growth, as a condition for resuming stalled peace negotiations with
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Western officials said Netanyahu's advisers have told their American and European counterparts that the Israeli government lacks legal authority to stop building in cases in which construction tenders have already been awarded or newly-built homes have already been purchased.
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"I think there is understanding in the
WESTERN REJECTION
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in a telephone conversation with Netanyahu on Monday, made clear that
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Israeli officials say Netanyahu hopes his highly conditional acceptance of Palestinian statehood, made in a major policy address earlier this week, will persuade Obama to show more flexibility on the issue of settlements.
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In an interview with
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"And I hope that ... my government and the Obama administration can find a common position on this because we'd like to move the peace process forward," Netanyahu said.
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A senior Western diplomat said
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One option under consideration by the Obama administration would be to expedite Israeli-Palestinian negotiations over the borders of a future Palestinian state, the diplomat said.
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If a deal were to be reached on borders, construction could continue in those areas which would remain under Israeli control.