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Source: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1245184921980&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Obama's Settlement Focus Handcuffing Negotiations
[Jerusalem Post] Herb Keinon - Defense Minister Ehud Barak is scheduled to fly back to Washington on Monday for another round of talks about construction in the settlements. Whether this was Obama's intention or not, his hard line on the settlements has effectively made Israeli-Palestinian negotiations dependent on a complete settlement freeze, something the Netanyahu government - because of its political makeup - is simply not going to do. If Obama thinks that by pressing this issue real hard, the Israeli public will revolt against Netanyahu, then he is misreading both the public and Netanyahu. Indeed, if the U.S. objective is to get negotiations started, then the Obama administration's policy of making the settlements its main focus is proving counterproductive.