Israel 'Surprised' by Trump Administration's Demand to Limit Settlements

The Trump administration is pushing a hard bargain with Israel to limit its settlement activity because it knows that Palestinians and the Arab states won't support a peace process without that concession, analyst and former Israeli civil servant Dan Arbell told Radio Sputnik.


US President Donald Trump is keen to broker a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians and the White House has been discussing the issue with the Israeli government in recent weeks.

Last month, the US President broke with decades of US policy by saying that Washington will not insist on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but wants to achieve a solution that "both parties like."

At a press conference with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump called on Israel to reduce its settlement-building on Palestinian land.

"I'd like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit," he told Netanyahu.

On Saturday, Israel's Channel 2 reported the details of negotiations between the Trump administration and the Israeli government delegation in Washington on the issue.

The proposed deal would allow Netanyahu to fulfil his promise to build a new settlement for the residents of the illegal West Bank outpost of Amona, which was evacuated in January. In exchange, the Israeli government would restrain settlement construction elsewhere, Channel 2 reported.

However, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the report was "incorrect," the Jerusalem Post reported.
  [sputniknews.com]
27/3/17