US envoy fails again to secure Israeli settlement freeze (Roundup)

Sep 16, 2009, 13:58 GMT

Jerusalem - Washington's Middle East envoy failed Wednesday for the second day running to iron out a deal on an Israeli settlement freeze that would allow a renewal of peace talks with the Palestinians.

Senator George Mitchell met for about two hours in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but like the meeting between the two on Tuesday, this ended without results.

No details were forthcoming form the meeting, which was nonetheless described as 'good.'

Mitchell, who had been expected to leave the region later in the day, will meet Netanyahu again on Friday, after he return from visits to neighbouring Arab states.

He met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, after a morning meeting with Netanyahu.

The Palestinians are demanding a total freeze of all Israeli construction in the occupied West Bank, while Netanyahu has said he is willing to accept only a temporary and limited moratorium.

The Israeli premier has said that, while he continues the policies of previous governments to build no new settlements, he will also allow the construction of nearly 3,000 new apartments within existing ones. Building in Jewish neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem will also continue, he has vowed.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat reiterated late Tuesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would not meet with Netanyahu without an Israeli freeze on all settlement activities including building to accommodate population expansion, or so-called 'natural growth.'

'There are no compromises on settlements,' Erekat told reporters after Mitchell met Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah for two- and-a-half hours.

'We are ready to meet our obligations and resume talks from where they stopped. But Israel has to meet its obligations and until now it has not met any of its obligations in the road map.'

The negotiations on the settlement freeze are ongoing with only a week left until a hoped-for meeting of Netanyahu and Abbas on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York.