An Israeli newspaper said Wednesday Israel had won agreement from the United States for the continued construction of 2,500 housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, despite US calls for a freeze. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said the US and Israel have been trying to find common ground on the sensitive settlement issue. But he – and a US embassy spokesman in Tel Aviv – had no comment on the front-page report of a deal in the Maariv daily. The report followed a briefing by Defense Minister Ehud Barak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his talks in London on Monday with US envoy George Mitchell on ending a rift with Washington over its demand for a settlement freeze. Western officials said the US was moving in the direction of making allowances so Israel could finish off at least some existing projects which are close to completion or bound by private contracts that cannot be broken. “This is a concession to avoid causing undue hardships on individuals” who have signed contracts and have already paid for work that cannot be refunded, one of the officials said, adding that discussions were still under way. “We're talking about polishing off things that are basically done,” the official said. Israel estimates that 2,500 units are in the process of being built and cannot be stopped under Israeli law. Maariv reported the units are in 700 buildings in various settlements and that Washington had agreed to their construction. Palestinian leaders have said peace negotiations with Israel could not resume unless there was a complete halt to settlement activity.
