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Emerging Settlement Deal Will Let Both U.S., Israel Claim Victory

[Jerusalem Post] Herb Keinon and Gil Hoffman - Israel and the U.S. are moving toward a compromise solution on the settlement issue that might allow both sides to claim victory. According to senior government officials, Israel would declare a construction moratorium of a few months while the U.S. would give Israel a green light to complete housing units that are in advanced stages of construction. Once agreement is reached, and the U.S. gets some gestures from the Arab world, the next step would possibly be an event - likely an international conference - where a "to do" list would be presented regarding what needed to be done to move the diplomatic process forward. This "to do" list, according to one well-placed source, was shaping up as a revamped edition of the Roadmap, with sequential phases and a stronger regional component, meaning that the Arab states would be asked to become involved in the normalization of ties in the early stages, rather than at the end of the process. According to National Security Adviser Uzi Arad, Prime Minister Netanyahu expects President Obama to honor the agreements reached with the Bush administration on West Bank construction.
2009-07-09 06:00:00
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