Middle East News
Netanyahu meets US envoy in bid to end settlement dispute
Nov 2, 2009, 10:36 GMT
Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Monday in Jerusalem with US special envoy George Mitchell, in a further bid to find a solution to an impasse which has prevented suspended peace talks with the Palestinians from restarting.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said he will not return to the negotiating table until Israel halts all construction in its West Bank, settlements.
Netanyahu however has rejected this demand, saying that while Israel will build no new settlements, it will continue with construction inside existing ones, to allow for population expansion, so-called 'natural growth.'
Mitchell has met repeatedly with Israeli and Palestinian officials in an attempt to forge a compromise, but without success.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks were suspended late last year as Israel entered an election period. They have not been resumed since Netanyahu took office at the end of March.
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