Fresh bid to solve US-Israeli row

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**The US and Israel have been holding last-minute talks to try to agree on steps Israel should take to get peace talks with Palestinians back on track.**The US admitted earlier differences remained between the two sides, following a row over Israel’s plans to build homes in occupied East Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu twice extended his visit in Washington to try to find a compromise.

Mr Netanyahu’s trip came amid the worst crisis in US-Israeli ties for decades.

The Israeli leader - who had originally planned to leave Washington on Tuesday - stayed on for another full day to meet the US Middle East peace envoy, George Mitchell, at his hotel.

Mr Mitchell returned to the US on Tuesday following a meeting in the West Bank with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

‘Playing tough’

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama held “honest” talks with Mr Netanyahu, urging him to take steps to build confidence in the peace process, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

ANALYSIS
Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor, Washington
All day, Israeli and US diplomats have been shuttling back and forth across Washington. The Americans want assurances from Mr Netanyahu that they can take to the Palestinians to get them to agree to talks. It has been a difficult process.Before Mr Netanyahu met President Obama at the White House on Tuesday night, the message from the Israeli side was that they had made up with the Americans, and that they now understood their position on Jerusalem. But as they were meeting news broke about another housing development for Jewish settlers in occupied East Jerusalem. Afterwards, the White House signalled the crisis was not over, announcing that no photograph or video of the meeting would be released, which is a calculated snub.

Even if the Americans do manage to get indirect talks going, the chances that they will make progress are slight. Both sides are politically weak - and their positions are a long way apart. To make matters worse, the entire region is more than usually unstable this year.

Mr Gibbs added that the US was seeking “clarification” of the latest plans to build homes in occupied East Jerusalem.

The White House was reportedly seeking to persuade Mr Netanyahu to commit to several trust-building measures to revive hopes for indirect “proximity talks” between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Palestinians pulled out of moves towards talks two weeks ago, after Israel unveiled plans to build 1,600 homes in the East Jerusalem settlement of Ramat Shlomo.

The project was approved during a visit by US Vice-President Joe Biden - a move which Washington branded an insult.

Minutes before Mr Netanyahu’s fence-mending visit to the White House on Tuesday, it emerged the Jerusalem municipal government had approved another development.

Twenty apartments are to be built for Jewish settlers on the site of an old hotel in the predominantly Arab neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

TIMELINE: ISRAEL-US ROW

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Issues: Borders and settlements

Mr Gibbs told reporters on Wednesday there were areas of agreement and disagreement between the sides, following the two meetings in Washington, one of which was unscheduled.

“The president has asked the prime minister for certain things to build confidence up to proximity talks that we think can make progress,” Mr Gibbs said.

He reiterated the American position that there was an “unbreakable bond” between the US and the Israeli people.

The Israelis said there had been a “good atmosphere” during Tuesday’s talks.

But the BBC’s Kim Ghattas in Washington notes Mr Netanyahu did not get the reception usually reserved for America’s allies.

There was no press conference, no lavish welcome, and the White House did not even release a picture of the meeting.

It all signals that the US is playing tough, making clear it is upset with the Israeli government, says our correspondent.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem for their future capital, but Israel insists the city cannot be divided.

Nearly half a million Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel’s 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

They are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

POINTS OF TENSION IN JERUSALEM

  • 1 Gilo: 850 homes approved for publication and planning objections in Nov 2009
  • 2 Pisgat Zeev: 600 homes approved for publication and planning objections in Jan 2010
  • **3 Sheikh Jarrah: **Municipality approves the building of 20 new apartments on the site of an old hotel
  • 4 Ramat Shlomo: 1,600 homes approved for publication and planning objections in Mar 2010
  • **5 Silwan: **Demolition orders on 88 Palestinian homes built without difficult-to-get permits - Israel planning controversial renewal project
  • 6. West Bank barrier: Making Palestinian movement between West Bank and Jerusalem harder - Israel says it’s for security

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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