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U.S. Ambassador Friedman: Palestinians Drop Settlement Freeze as Precondition for Talks
(Jerusalem Post) Tovah Lazaroff - The U.S. has not asked for a settlement freeze and the Palestinians have dropped that demand as a precondition for talks with Israel, the new U.S. Ambassador David Friedman told the Hebrew daily Israel Hayom on Wednesday. The Palestinian insistence for the last eight years that Israel must halt all settlement activity and Jewish building in east Jerusalem was one of the core stumbling blocs to direct talks. During his trip, Trump won't unveil a specific "diplomatic plan" or a "road map," Friedman said. "The President has clarified that to start with, he wants to see the parties sitting together and talking without preconditions, with the hope that this will lead to peace....The U.S. won't dictate how you should live together, that is something you will have to decide on your own." On Tuesday night, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump held a 20-minute phone call about Trump's upcoming visit to Israel.