Settlement-building in the occupied West Bank will be halted for 10 months, but not in East Jerusalem, and the construction of schools, synagogues and community centres will continue as part of its “natural growth” doctrine, the government of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced 26 November. The news was welcomed by former US Senator George Mitchell, the US special envoy for the Middle East, who called it “significant.” President Barack Obama’s administration has urged Israel to respect its commitments under the 2003 roadmap to peace in the Middle East.
Palestine’s chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, dismissed the Israeli move as “mere propaganda” and said that it had more to do with appeasing the USA than making peace with the Palestinians.
Links to other sites: Aljazeera, Jerusalem Post, New York Times, US State Department briefing
US Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, arrived in Cairo, Egypt for talks with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak 27 July, after stops in Syria and Israel. It was Mitchell’s second visit to Damascus, Syria in two months. Talks were “candid and positive.” In Israel, Mitchell met Defense Minister Ehud Barak. After talks in Cairo, Mitchell is to see Palestinian President Abbas, and Israeli leaders 28 July. This is part of a concerted effort by the Obama administration to move the Middle East peace process along. Other senior US administration officials are expected in the region later this week. Al-Jazeera, BBC, Jerusalem Post
Israel has bombed tunnels on the Gaza-Egypt border that it believes Hamas is using to smuggle arms, reports the BBC. Israel on Tuesday sent tanks and troops into Gaza in response to an attack on a border patrol Tuesday that killed one Israeli soldier and injured three. The two sides declared separate ceasefires 17 and 18 January. The attacks come as US envoy George Mitchell arrives in Egypt for the first set of talks in the region. Independent
