Israel hails US call for talks without conditions
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has welcomed President Barack Obama's call at the U.N. for Israelis and Palestinians to resume peace talks without preconditions.
Palestinian leaders say there can be no negotiations without a complete halt to Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. Netanyahu is proposing a partial and temporary slowdown.
In his U.N. speech Wednesday, Obama said, "America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements."
Netanyahu told Israel Radio in a telephone interview from New York Thursday that even though he and Obama do not see eye-to-eye on settlements, "the president of the United States said unequivocally that is not an issue that should prevent the start of negotiations."
AP | STEVE WEIZMAN | Posted 11.23.2009 | Home