19/09/2010 With the settlement construction freeze set to expire in one week, the international community is applying a great deal of pressure on both Israel and the Palestinians in an effort to ensure that the recently initiated direct negotiations will not collapse when the moratorium on settlement construction expires on September 26.
The Obama administration hopes it could achieve some success in the “already born-dead” negotiations. This comes as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Sunday refused to yield to the growing international calls to extend the settlement freeze and prevent peace talks from collapsing.
Israel would not risk exposing its citizens to the type of attacks launched from the Gaza Strip since Israel's withdrawal in 2006, Netanyahu told cabinet colleagues at their weekly meeting in occupied Jerusalem.
"I stand firmly behind Israel's security needs, to prevent a repetition of the rocket fire on Israel's citizens from Gaza," he said.
Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has also rejected the possibility that Israel would extend the settlement construction moratorium.
During a phone conversation with British counterpart William Hague over the weekend, Lieberman said, "The Palestinians wasted nine months, and even on the tenth month they didn’t join the talks out of a genuine intent to reach an agreement, but because they were coerced."
The Israeli foreign minister claimed the West Bank construction freeze was merely an "excuse" for the Palestinians to thwart the talks, adding that it was now the Palestinian Authority's turn to prove its seriousness with regards to the peace talks. "Those who look for excuses will find them even if the freeze is extended," said Lieberman.
Lieberman told Hague that the international community must support the negotiations by giving Israel incentives and refrain from increasing pressure on Israel to make concessions.
Meanwhile, diplomatic activity would have to shift its focus to New York where the annual United Nations General Assembly will convene this week.
Israeli President Shimon Peres will travel to Manhattan, where a senior source in Tel Aviv says he is scheduled to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has also traveled to the United States, where he will meet in Washington with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and National Security Adviser General James Jones. He is also set to meet in New York with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Peres is expected to press Abbas to continue the negotiations. Prior to the start of the Yom Kippur holiday on Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and urged him to extend the freeze for several more months to give the talks a chance.
Efforts are also being made to arrange a meeting between Abbas and U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday.
According to the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat, Muhammad Dahlan, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, said the negotiations with Israel have not even started and there has been no agreement on the agenda.
According to Dahlan, Abbas told Netanyahu during their recent meeting in occupied Jerusalem that there will be no negotiations if construction in the settlements resumes. The Palestinian Authority president's comments reportedly came in response to a statement by Netanyahu that he intends to renew building.
Dahlan said the Palestinians want an immediate agreement on borders as this will critically effect other issues on the table.
Israeli and Palestinian officials will continue talks this week on arranging another meeting between Abbas and Netanyahu prior to the end of the freeze.
Lieberman: "Settlement freeze" will not be renewed in late September
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