Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, on his first official visit to Washington on Wednesday, said Israel will not accept an "complete freezing of settlement" as part of direct talks with the Palestinians. Following a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Lieberman told reporters that Israel has no "intention to change the demographics balance" in the West Bank cities of Judea and Samaria, and "so we cannot accept this vision about absolutely, completely, freezing of settlements."
"I think we must keep natural growth," Lieberman added. Israel had some "understanding with the previous George W. Bush administration and we tried to keep this direction. Israel is ready for immediate direct talks with the Palestinians," Lieberman, leader of the ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, said.
Clinton,standing next to Lieberman, expressed differences on whether communication between Israel and then-Bush administration committed the Obama administration to allow some settlements activities to continue. "In looking at the history of the Bush administration, there were no informal or oral enforceable agreements," she said, repeating earlier statements on the matter. Clinton reiterated President Barack Obama's call a put a stop to all settlement activity on occupied land, stressing it as "an essential part of pursuing the efforts leading to a comprehensive peace agreement and the creation of a Palestinian state next to an Israeli Jewish state that is secure in its borders and future."
The US announced today Obama administration Mideast envoy Senator George Mitchell will travel to Paris, France on June 25th to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to work on an agreement on the settlements and address other concerns on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
"There are a number of critical concerns, many of which overlap in their impact and significance, that will be explored in the coming weeks as Senator Mitchell engages more deeply into the specifics as to where the Israelis and the Palestinians are willing to go together," Clinton said. Clinton added that past negotiations have shown that Israels stance is lively to evolve into something that can lead to the creation of a Palestinian state, as Israeli leaders "have moved to positions they never would have thought they could have advocated."