Extending Israel Settlement Ban ‘Very Difficult,’ Minister Says
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Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said it would be “very difficult” for his government to renew a freeze on settlement construction in return for American security assurances, as the U.S. has proposed.
“It was a unilateral gesture,” Steinitz said in an interview yesterday with Bloomberg News in New York, referring to a 10-month suspension of construction ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “You don’t negotiate on unilateral gestures. You negotiate on peace settlement.”