[Ma'an News-PA] A senior member of U.S. President Obama's party blamed Palestinians for a lack of peace negotiations and cast doubt on calls for a settlement freeze. "I don't think settlements are nearly the big issue that confronts the Palestinians and the Israelis in reaching an agreement," said Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the American House majority leader. The influential lawmaker said he had sympathy for the Israeli government's refusal to halt construction. "Netanyahu's standpoint and Israel's standpoint is that if one of your children gets married and wants to live close to you, there needs to be a place to live [in a settlement]. That's not an irrational argument."
2009-08-14 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive