As US envoys push settlement freeze, report shows Israeli settler population now over 300,000

September 30th, 2009 Israeli envoys to US for talks on peacemakingJERUSALEM — The chief Palestinian negotiator on Tuesday played down expectations for President Barack Obama's latest attempt to restart peace talks, saying key differences with Israel make it difficult for negotiations to resume. The negotiator, Saeb Erekat, spoke ahead of talks in Washington this week with Obama's Mideast envoy, George Mitchell.

September 30th, 2009 Fatah to Abbas: no talks without settlement freezeRAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been told by his Fatah movement that he must not resume peace talks unless Israel freezes its settlement construction, a senior Fatah member said Wednesday. Fatah's position could help Abbas stand up to U.S.

September 23rd, 2009 Israeli FM: US meeting proof firm stand paid offJERUSALEM — Israel's foreign minister says a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian and American leaders was a victory for Israel because it took place even though Israel refused demands to freeze settlement in the West Bank. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israel Radio Wednesday that the government "kept its promises to the voter" and showed it is not necessary to "surrender and give in." Israel agreed only to slow settlement construction in the Palestinian territory for a limited time.

September 14th, 2009 Netanyahu: There will be no construction freezeJERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuffed U.S. demands for a total West Bank settlement freeze on Monday, digging in his heels before a crucial meeting with Washington's special Mideast envoy.

September 4th, 2009 Moussa: no to settlement freeze without JerusalemCERNOBBIO, Italy — The Arab League chief says any Israeli offer for a settlement freeze that doesn't include east Jerusalem is unacceptable and "will suspend the peace process." Amr Moussa spoke Friday at a conference on Italy's Lake Como. Moussa said a freeze of settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians hope to make their capital, is a precondition for any meaningful talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

August 28th, 2009 Egypt: Israeli freeze must include east JerusalemSTOCKHOLM — Egypt's foreign minister says east Jerusalem must be included in a freeze of Israeli settlement activity before Middle East peace talks can restart. Ahmed Aboul-Gheit told reporters in Stockholm on Friday that Jerusalem is Arab "and it will continue to be so." He said the Arab world expects the area to be included in a moratorium on Israeli settlements.

August 23rd, 2009 Report: No sign of West Bank settlement slowdownJERUSALEM — There is no sign of a slowdown in the construction of homes for Jewish settlers in the West Bank despite Israel's announcement that it has stopped approving new building, the Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said in a report issued Sunday. Under U.S. pressure to freeze settlements, Israel indicated last week it had stopped green-lighting new construction projects, part of an attempt to bridge the gap between the two allies.

August 17th, 2009 Republican Huckabee supports Israeli settlementsJERUSALEM — The U.S. has taken too harsh a stance against Israel on the issue of settlements, hindering peace negotiations, former Arkansas governor and presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said during a visit to Israel on Monday.

July 28th, 2009 Netanyahu, US envoy try to resolve settlement spatJERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell are trying to resolve a public dispute over Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

July 20th, 2009 Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian fieldsNABLUS, West Bank — More than 30 Israeli settlers, some of them on horseback, set fire to fields and olive trees and stoned Palestinian cars during a rampage in the West Bank on Monday, a Palestinian official said. Two Palestinians were lightly injured.

June 30th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Knesset member Otniel Schneller has termed the US demand for a settlement freeze as "extortion", which could impede Israeli readiness for peace. The Jerusalem Post quoted Schneller, as saying that Obama administration officials were holding beliefs shaped by "far-Left opinions outside of the Israeli consensus." Schneller, who has been involved in peace deals with the Palestinians and Jordan since 1994, wrote a letter to Defense Minister Ehud Barak ahead of his US visit.

June 26th, 2009 Mideast Quartet urges Israel to halt settlementsTRIESTE, Italy — The Quartet of Mideast negotiators has called on Israel to freeze all settlement activity and to lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip. The Quartet — the United States, Russia, United Nations and European Union — met Friday on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of Eight foreign ministers, who made a similar call for Mideast peace.

June 4th, 2009 Israeli settler: Obama speech is naiveOFRA, West Bank — An Israeli settler spokeswoman has dismissed President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo as naive and out of touch with reality. In his speech, Obama called on Israel to halt all construction in West Bank settlements as a step toward reaching peace with the Palestinians.

June 1st, 2009 Netanyahu rejects US calls for settlement freezeHAVAT GILAD, West Bank — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday rejected President Barack Obama's demand for a freeze on West Bank Jewish settlement construction, but his government's move to dismantle some squatter camps set off a rampage by Jewish settlers against Palestinians. It was a violent reminder that Netanyahu is caught between his own hard-line supporters and Israel's vital relationship with Washington.

April 27th, 2009 Abbas demands Israel halt building settlementsRAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has delivered a tough speech on peace-making with Israel, saying there's no way he'll resume negotiations without an Israeli settlement freeze. Abbas also said Monday that Israel is defined by the borders it had before the 1967 Mideast War and "not one centimeter more." In 1967, Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem — territories the Palestinians seek for their state.