Israel urges Palestinians to make reciprocal move to its settlement restraint
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Israeli ministers on Thursday urged the Palestinians to make reciprocal steps after Israel announced a temporary partial freeze on West Bank settlements, so as to re-launch the peace talks.
"The ball is now in the Palestinian court," Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Army Radio.
"We've contributed what we could contribute, the Palestinians will make their considerations based on internal considerations that don't need to concern us," he said.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak apparently threw another ball to the United States Obama administration, by mentioning U.S. further proposal after the new development.
"I believe the talks will be renewed after the Americans make their proposal. The alternative is diplomatic stagnation that could result in violence," Barak told Israel Radio.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening announced a 10-month freeze on construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
However, Netanyahu said the construction freeze would not be implemented in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem, and also not apply to construction that has already been authorized or to work on public buildings conducive to normal life in the West Bank settlements.
Stressing the move as an effort to revive the peace talks with the Palestinians, the Prime Minister said "we have been told by many of our friends that once Israel takes the first meaningful steps toward peace, the Palestinians and Arab states would respond. "
Israel's announcement was welcomed by Washington on Wednesday, but got a cold response from the Palestinian side.
Nabil Abu Rdeineh, spokesman of the Palestinian presidency, announced on Wednesday that the Palestinian National Authority ( PNA) rejected getting back to peace talks without a complete cessation of settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967 and later annexed, are considered by international community as Israeli settlements and one of the main obstacles to Israeli- Palestinian peace process.
Israel deems Jerusalem as its indivisible capital, while the Palestinians want the east section of the holy city as capital of their future state.
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