Israel and America agree on mechanism to discuss settlement expansion

Israel Radio has reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to an agreement with the US administration during his recent visit to Washington to establish a mechanism for the expansion of illegal settlements. Netanyahu has now returned to Israel after concluding his visit.

Before leaving, Netanyahu told Fox News that maintaining security control west of the Jordan River — by which he means the occupied West Bank — is a major condition to reaching an agreement with the Palestinians. He added that the Palestinians need to recognise Israel as a Jewish state, regardless of the border issues. This is something the Palestinians still refuse to do formally. The Israeli leader insisted that the issue of illegal settlements is not the gist of the conflict with the Palestinians.

Analysis: The revised US position on Palestine-Israel is likely to create political chaos

Commenting on the results of Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, Israel’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Danny Danon, said that the US sent a clear message to the PA that it must sit at the negotiations table to reach an agreement.