In an effort to jumpstart negotiations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday a 10-month settlement freeze in the West Bank. The decision was confirmed in a vote of 11-1 by his Security Cabinet composed of senior ministers and security officials.

This decision, on November 25, 2009 marks a historic day and the biggest step towards realizing a two state solution in years. Netanyahu acknowledged the difficulty and weight of this decision, as he told his Security Cabinet “ this is neither simple nor easy but it has many more advantages than disadvantages.  It allows us to place a simple fact before the world: The Government of Israel wants to enter into negotiations with the Palestinians, is taking practical steps in order to do so and is very serious in its intentions to promote peace.”

The reaction by American officials has been overwhelmingly positive. George Mitchell, the administration’s special envoy for Middle East peace, acknowledged that it is “more than any Israeli government has done before and can help movement toward agreement between the parties.” Secretary of State Hilary Clinton released an approving statement declaring “today’s announcement by the government of Israel helps move forward toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

For more information, see this Wall Street Journal article

Like

Unlike

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.