(Jpost).US ambassador Dan Shapiro said Monday at a lecture to Haredi students at the Lander Institute in Jerusalem that the US believes that negotiations between the sides is the only solution to two states for two people: a Jewish state and a Palestinian state "that will live side by side in peace and security." Shapiro said that the difficulty in getting the sides back to negotiations stems from the deep distrust between the sides. He said that negotiations can only succeed if there is an understanding of the framework of the negotiations, something the US and the Quartet were currently working on. He said that these efforts would continue, even if there was a vote at the UN.
Shapiro said that the US was opposed to unilateral steps from either side, including an Israeli halt to the transfer of tax revenues to the PA, a move advocated by some in the government. Shapiro said this money paid the salaries of PA personnel who ensure normal life in the PA, and added that three days ago at the donor's conference in New York Israel supported providing funds to the PA. The security cooperation between Israel and the PA was important and should continue, he said.