srael had won agreement from the United States for the continued construction of 2,500 housing units in settlements in the West Bank, despite U.S. calls for a freeze, according to the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said the United States and Israel have been trying to find common ground on the sensitive settlement issue, but he had no comment on the front-page report of a deal. A U.S. embassy spokesman in Tel Aviv also had no immediate comment. Advertisement The report followed a briefing by Defense Minister Ehud Barak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his talks in London on Monday with U.S. envoy George Mitchell on ending a rift with Washington over its demand for a settlement freeze. Western officials said the United States was moving in the direction of making allowances so Israel could finish off at least some existing projects which are close to completion or bound by private contracts that cannot be broken.
Since the borders are defined by Geneva Protocols - a country can't take land derived from a war - Israel will be acknowledging borders that will require the settlers to either become Palestinian citizens, or perhaps they can get guest worker cards and go through hours of lines to cross the border every day to get to jobs in Israel...or they can sell the houses at a bargin when the market falls.
ObamaChangeTM; giving Israel what it wants... Never underestimate their intelligence, always underestimate their knowledge.
Frank Delaney ~ Ireland
