RAMALLAH, September 6 (JMCC) - Just four days after the talks resumed, the Middle East
Peace Process has once again been thrown into uncertainty. Avigdor Lieberman,
Israel’s Foreign minister has threatened to block any attempt to extend a freeze on Jewish
settlement construction in the
West Bank.
The stumbling block comes just days after Israeli and Palestinian leaders met in Washington last week to launch the latest round of negotiations.
Mr Lieberman said he would use the muscle of his Yisrael Beiteinu party to ensure that building in the settlements resumes on Sept 26, the date the current moratorium ends, despite stiff Palestinian opposition.
Under intense US pressure, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, who holds together a fragile coalition government, agreed last year to a 10-month partial freeze on building in the settlements.
The move, reinforced by American encouragement, was instrumental in persuading the Palestinian leadership, to resume first indirect talks and then face-to-face negotiations with Israel for the first time in nearly two years.
Read more at
The Telegraph…