Israel turns a deaf ear to Obama's pressure to stop settlement activity

July 12, 4:00 PMForeign Policy ExaminerAimee Kligman

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his weekly cabinet meeting
at the city hall of the southern Israeli city of Be’er Sheva , Israel, Sunday, July 12, 2009.
The meeting was to mark the government's first 100 days in office.
(AP Photo/Atef Safadi, Pool)

On Sunday, July 12th, Prime Minister Netanyahu offered Palestinians an immediate return to peace talks. The offer was rejected by Mahmoud Abbas, who demanded that the Israeli State cease all settlement activity in the West Bank.

During his weekly cabinet meeting in Be'er Sheva, Netanyahu declared that 'there is no reason that President Abbas and myself shouldn't meet, anywhere in this country, to advance the peace process'.

Netanyahu also made a point of talking about the removal of several military checkpoints in the West Bank, calling this 'several gestures made toward the Palestinian people'.

He added that ' during the last few weeks, we made efforts to calm their lives, particularly in regard to freedom of movement, and that these measures were purely one-sided on behalf of Israel'. Picking up on his original formula, he said: 'let us make peace, diplomatic and economic peace'.

The question of  Israeli settlements in the West Bank has become one of the main obstacles to the resumption of the peace negotiations between both parties.

Perhaps Tzipi Livni had it right when she criticized Netanyahu as demonstrating the height of 'chutzpah' (nerve in Yiddish) when he uttered the words 'two-state solution' in a speech he made on the 100th day of his administration. She remarked that the concept is totally in opposition to Netanyahu's beliefs.