Marrakech (Morocco): US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton on Monday called on Israel to make greater efforts
to ease tensions with Palestinians as she tried to overcome
Arab anger over Jewish settlements.
The United States had urged a halt to all settlement
building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as a precursor to
relaunching the peace process, but on Saturday Clinton
endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's offer of
a partial freeze.
Speaking ahead of an international conference in
Marrakech, Morocco, she admitted that the Israeli offer "falls
far short of our preferences" but was still worth seizing.
"If it is acted upon it will be an unprecedented
restriction on settlements and will have a significant and
meaningful effect on restraining their growth," Clinton said.
"The Obama administration's position on settlements
is clear and unequivocal. It has not changed. The US does not
accept the legitimacy of continuing Israeli settlements."
Clinton said she has pressured Israel to do "much
more" to reciprocate measures taken by the Palestinians to
improve security.
"I told Prime Minister Netanyahu that these
positive steps on the part of the Palestinians should be met
by positive steps from Israel on movements, access ... and
Israeli security arrangements in the West Bank," she said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, November 02, 2009, 20:27