No Agreement to Freeze Settlements

An attempt to freeze the illegal construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land has ended without agreement, officials say, after U.S. envoy George Mitchell’s latest round of shuttle diplomacy with Israeli and Palestinian leaders failed.

The BBC:

US envoy George Mitchell’s latest round of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East has ended without agreement, Palestinian officials said.

Mr Mitchell had met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem in a fresh attempt at getting a deal on Jewish settlement activity.

He also went to the West Bank to speak with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Mr Mitchell was hoping for a consensus before all sides attend the UN General Assembly in New York next week.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said: “There is no agreement yet with the Israeli side and no middle ground solution.”

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Flickr / Creap

Expansion of Jewish housing in the West Bank and elsewhere has put a huge damper on peace initiatives in Israel.