Obama urges Israel to stop West Bank activities

October 4th, 2009 Mubarak urges Israel to resume peace talksCAIRO — Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak urged Israel to resume peace talks with the Palestinians where they broke off more than a year ago, warning that the peace process "can't take another failure." Israeli-Palestinian negotiations tapered off last year and haven't resumed since last winter's war in Gaza and the election of Benjamin Netanyahu as Israeli prime minister. Since then, the two sides have yet to establish a framework to renew talks.

September 24th, 2009 Israel hails US call for talks without conditionsJERUSALEM — Israel's prime minister welcomed Thursday President Barack Obama's call for the resumption of Mideast peace talks without preconditions despite Palestinian demands for a halt to new Jewish settlements in the West Bank before any new negotiations begin. In the past, Obama had said all Israeli building must stop on lands the Palestinians claim for a future state.

September 9th, 2009 Israel moves on plans to build in east JerusalemJERUSALEM — Israel is pushing ahead with a long-delayed plan to build hundreds of apartments in east Jerusalem, staking claims to land the Palestinians want for a future state and complicating already tense relations with the U.S. over its demand for a construction moratorium.

September 7th, 2009 Israel approves 366 new West Bank apartmentsJERUSALEM — Israel has officially approved construction of 366 new apartments in the West Bank. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday that he intends to soon approve about 84 more.

September 2nd, 2009 Israel releases 9 Hamas lawmakers from prisonRAMALLAH, West Bank — A Hamas legislator in the West Bank says Israel has released nine other Hamas lawmakers from Israeli prisons. The legislator, Mahmoud Ramahi, says the men had all completed 40-month prison terms and their release Wednesday did not appear to be a gesture from Israel.

August 31st, 2009 EU: Fresh Mideast talks could be announced soonJERUSALEM — A top European Union official said Monday that renewal of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks could be announced in late September. The EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he expected a plan to reopen negotiations to emerge with the opening of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept.

August 18th, 2009 Obama: Encouraged on Israel, Palestinian prospectsWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Tuesday he is encouraged by progress in U.S. efforts to bring Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, thanking his Egyptian counterpart for help in working for a breakthrough.

August 6th, 2009 Republicans 'troubled' by US policy on IsraelJERUSALEM — The Obama administration's policy on Israel is misguided, puts too much emphasis on the issue of settlements and ignores the bigger threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, a U.S. delegation of Republican congressmen visiting Israel said Thursday.

July 8th, 2009 UN: Israel must tear down West Bank barrierJERUSALEM — Israel must tear down its West Bank separation barrier, a senior U.N. official said Wednesday, marking five years since the International Court of Justice declared the barrier illegal and a violation of Palestinian rights.

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 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama said Monday there was some "positive movement" towards peace after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recognised the Palestinians' right to an independent state. But Obama made clear he would not back down from his demand that Israel stop all settlement activity, a key disagreement that remains between the two long-time allies.

June 6th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Israel will eventually have no other option but to accept a two-state solution because the United States will not give up on this issue, according to Israel Radio. sraeli officials said if Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu agrees to adopt the road map peace plan, he will prevent the Obama Administration from pressuring Israel to accept the establishment of a Palestinian state under other circumstances.

May 30th, 2009 RAMALLAH - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas presented a draft proposal on settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the US administration when he met President Barack Obama in Washington, a Palestinian source said Saturday. "The plan includes timetables and mechanisms for carrying out the deals to push forward the political process," the source said on condition of anonymity.

May 29th, 2009 Obama urges halt to 'drift' in Mideast peace talksWASHINGTON — Deepening his involvement in the quest for a difficult peace, President Barack Obama is pushing a reluctant Israel to halt settlement construction in the West Bank while urging the Palestinians to be more accepting of their Israeli neighbors. "We can't continue with the drift, with the increased fear and resentment on both sides, the sense of hopelessness around the situation that we've seen for many years now," Obama said Thursday, referring to the idea of Palestinians and Israelis living peacefully as neighbors.

May 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama said during his first meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday that Tel Aviv must end its settlement activities in the West Bank in order to progress in the peace process with Palestinians. 'Settlements have to be stopped in order for us to move forward,' Obama said, placing him at odds with the conservative prime minister, whose government appears poised to expand a key settlement in the West Bank.