U.S. officials are stepping up the pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut a deal on curtailing Israeli settlements, and they’re holding out a prize that both Netanyahu and President Barack Obama badly want: strong ties between the two leaders.
Both sides said that the U.S. and Israel are near an agreement on a halt to expanding Israeli settlements on disputed territory. If Netanyahu approves, U.S. officials said, it could reopen direct negotiations between Israeli andPalestinian leaders on Middle East peace for the first time since before Israeli’s invasion of Gaza last winter.
But the Israeli premier and the American president have gotten off on uncertain footing, with neither proving willing to make early compromises as the other expected. The relationship is important to both leaders’ domestic politics, and now U.S. officials say the settlement negotiations give Netanyahu a way to show he’s committed to the Middle East peace process. link...
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