U.S. Presses Israel on Housing as Dispute Widens
By HELENE COOPER and ISABEL KERSHNER
NYT
WASHINGTON — With Israeli officials saying that construction on a contentious Jewish housing project in East Jerusalem could begin at any time, President Obama pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to give a written commitment to rein in any further building and to move ahead on peace talks with the Palestinians.
Israeli and American negotiators huddled in Washington for a second straight day, after two sessions at the White House on Tuesday night ended in an impasse. Mr. Netanyahu continued to balk at American demands that he find a way to reverse another East Jerusalem housing plan: the one in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood that was announced during Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s trip to Israel this month, igniting a diplomatic storm.
The Obama administration also wants Mr. Netanyahu to allow scheduled negotiations with the Palestinians to focus on substantive issues like borders and security.
After a session with Mr. Obama in the Oval Office on Tuesday night that lasted an hour and a half, Mr. Netanyahu met with his own negotiators for another hour and a half in the White House Roosevelt Room. Then he returned to the Oval Office for a final 30-minute session with Mr. Obama before returning to his hotel.
(More here.)
NYT
WASHINGTON — With Israeli officials saying that construction on a contentious Jewish housing project in East Jerusalem could begin at any time, President Obama pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to give a written commitment to rein in any further building and to move ahead on peace talks with the Palestinians.
Israeli and American negotiators huddled in Washington for a second straight day, after two sessions at the White House on Tuesday night ended in an impasse. Mr. Netanyahu continued to balk at American demands that he find a way to reverse another East Jerusalem housing plan: the one in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood that was announced during Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s trip to Israel this month, igniting a diplomatic storm.
The Obama administration also wants Mr. Netanyahu to allow scheduled negotiations with the Palestinians to focus on substantive issues like borders and security.
After a session with Mr. Obama in the Oval Office on Tuesday night that lasted an hour and a half, Mr. Netanyahu met with his own negotiators for another hour and a half in the White House Roosevelt Room. Then he returned to the Oval Office for a final 30-minute session with Mr. Obama before returning to his hotel.
(More here.)
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