Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday Israel would not freeze all building in West Bank settlements as demanded by Washington but could limit its scope to help to restart peace talks with the Palestinians. Israeli officials have said work would continue on 2,500 settler homes being built in the occupied territory, and Netanyahu reaffirmed the position in remarks to a legislative panel, before talks Tuesday with a US envoy. Netanyahu postponed a meeting with US Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell to attend the funeral of the pilot son of Israel's sole astronaut who was killed in a crash. “They (Americans) asked us for a complete freeze and we told them that we will not do this,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying by a parliamentary official, who briefed reporters on his comments to the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee. “I told the Americans we would consider reducing the scope of construction,” the Israeli leader said, according to the official. “But there has to be a balance between the desire to make progress in political negotiations and the need to allow inhabitants of Judea and Samaria to continue to lead normal lives,” Netanyahu said, referring to the occupied West Bank. Israel Radio quoted Netanyahu, who heads a right-leaning government, as saying any construction restrictions would be in effect only for a limited time, but it said he gave no timeframe. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also due to meet US presidential envoy George Mitchell Tuesday, has said he would not return to peace negotiations with Israel until it froze settlement activity in line with a 2003 peace “road map” Talks have been suspended since December. Mitchell, who arrived in Israel Saturday, has been trying to prepare a package under which Israel would halt construction in settlements and Arab nations would take initial steps towards recognizing Israel. Washington hopes both moves would lead to a resumption of peace talks. Mitchell and Netanyahu said separately Sunday that gaps still needed to be bridged before a settlement deal could be sealed.
