[Jerusalem Post] Intelligence Affairs Minister Dan Meridor insisted on Tuesday that Israel and the U.S. had a clear agreement dating back six years permitting Israel to build within the construction lines of existing settlements. He said Israel had honored its Roadmap commitment to a settlement freeze within the parameters agreed with the U.S., and that the U.S. administration's refusal to acknowledge and abide by those understandings was deeply problematic. "It is of great importance to us that what the [previous] U.S. administration agreed to is not overlooked," Meridor said at a briefing in Jerusalem organized by The Israel Project, adding that the credibility of future agreements and understandings was at stake. He stressed that what he called the "oral understandings" regarding what construction would and would not be permitted under the terms of the freeze were reached "by America and Israel," and did not lapse because of the change of administration. "The agreement is binding on us and them."
2009-07-21 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive