Washington is to demand Israel implement a partial settlement freeze after US Secretary of State John Kerry presents his framework for extending peace talks, army radio reported on Wednesday.Photo: Palestinian children look at bungalows built by Israeli settlers on seized
land, near Birzeit on Dec. 3, 2013
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Quoting US negotiators involved in the talks, the radio said the United States was hoping to obtain a freeze on construction in isolated settlements outside the major West Bank blocs, which Israel hopes to retain in any peace deal.
Kerry, who is to meet President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris on Wednesday night, is currently working on a framework that would allow the ongoing talks to be extended beyond an April deadline until the end of the year.
Launched in July 2013, the talks have shown very little visible progress since they began, with both sides at loggerheads over a series of issues, including Israel’s ongoing settlement construction on land which the Palestinians want for a future state.
Netanyahu’s office refused to comment on the report.
