(VOA,CSmonitor).An Israeli newspaper is reporting that U.S. President Barack Obama wants Israel to freeze construction in East Jerusalem for four months so that stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks can resume.
In a report published Wednesday, Haaretz said in exchange for the freeze, the United States would pressure Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to hold direct talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Prime Minister Netanyahu's office would not comment on the report.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the prime minister's office had no comment on the proposal and could not confirm its veracity. "We won't we won't talk about it unless they do first," said spokesman Mark Regev.
Netanyahu, mindful of his rightist allies, is unlikely to agree to a four-month halt, says political analyst Jonathan Spyer.
"My own sense is that it's a non-starter. I'm not sure if it's a trial balloon, but if so, I don't see it flying," says Dr. Spyer, a senior research fellow at Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA), part of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.
"Everything we're hearing from Netanyahu's cabinet indicates that they're not interested in a freeze in Jerusalem. This kind of pressure on the coalition isn't sustainable and if Netanyahu were to make a move like that, it will collapse," he says.
In a report published Wednesday, Haaretz said in exchange for the freeze, the United States would pressure Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to hold direct talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Prime Minister Netanyahu's office would not comment on the report.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the prime minister's office had no comment on the proposal and could not confirm its veracity. "We won't we won't talk about it unless they do first," said spokesman Mark Regev.
Netanyahu, mindful of his rightist allies, is unlikely to agree to a four-month halt, says political analyst Jonathan Spyer.
"My own sense is that it's a non-starter. I'm not sure if it's a trial balloon, but if so, I don't see it flying," says Dr. Spyer, a senior research fellow at Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA), part of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.
"Everything we're hearing from Netanyahu's cabinet indicates that they're not interested in a freeze in Jerusalem. This kind of pressure on the coalition isn't sustainable and if Netanyahu were to make a move like that, it will collapse," he says.
