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U.S. and Israel Agree: Security Calm Must Come Before Settlement Limit

(Forward) - Ori Nir According to Israeli diplomatic sources, Washington and Jerusalem have quietly agreed that any freeze on settlement activity will not come as an immediate response to Palestinian anti-terrorism measures, but only after a prolonged period of calm and after most first-phase road map requirements from the Palestinians have been fulfilled. "There is really no point in discussing a settlement freeze in any detail at the moment, because it is still premature," said a senior Israeli diplomat. First, he said, Israel and the U.S. want to see real security measures taken by Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen. Moreover, the diplomat said, even when such measures are taken, Israel will not reciprocate with a gradual freeze of settlement activity, as Palestinians have expected. Rather, it will offer an easing of military restrictions in the West Bank and Gaza. "In terms of symmetry and implementation of mutual obligations, the Israelis will respond with respect to their requirements to the degree that the Palestinians respond with respect to theirs," said Aaron Miller, a former State Department official who helped shape the road map. And, he said, the likelihood of the P.A. achieving a full cessation of violence is low. The internal Israeli political complications of freezing settlement activities were underlined last week, when nearly half the Knesset members from Prime Minister Sharon's Likud Party joined a parliamentary caucus dedicated to defending settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.
2003-05-09 00:00:00
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