Netanyahu kicks balls away by announcing settlement restraint
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When Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu announced a 10-month partial freeze on construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, he urged the Palestinians and the whole Arab world to respond to Israel's latest decision.
By making what described by Netanyahu as the "meaningful steps toward peace," Israel kicked the balls away, in the eyes of analysts, one to the Palestinians and another to the United States.
Ball into Palesinian court
One day after Netanyahu announced the temporary settlement freeze decision, Israeli Foreign minister urged the Palestinians to make reciprocal steps.
"The ball is now in the Palestinian court," Avigdor Lieberman told Army Radio on Thursday, adding that "we've contributed what we could contribute, the Palestinians will make their considerations based on internal considerations that don't need to concern us."
Lieberman echoed Netanyahu's remarks at the special press conference on Wednesday evening, when he stressed Israeli latest move as an effort to revive the peace talks with the Palestinians.
"We have been told by many of our friends that once Israel takes the first meaningful steps toward peace, the Palestinians and Arab states would respond," said the Prime Minister.
By publicly announcing the settlement construction limit, Israel is now "in an easier position," said Prof. Shlomo Aronson of the Department of Political Science of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu government now "kicks the ball to the Palestinians," he added.
Both Aronson and Prof. Eytan Gilboa, a senior Researcher at Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies, hold the opinion that now is the time for the Palestinian side to make moves.
Balance policy
However, both the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Fatah party immediately rejected Israel's offer.
"There is nothing new in the Israeli offer. Settlement must completely stop, not only in the West Bank, and not partially, but it must completely stop in both the West Bank and Jerusalem," the central committee of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party said in a press statement.
Netanyahu on Wednesday said the construction freeze would not be implemented in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem, and also not apply to construction that has already been authorized or to work on public buildings conducive to normal life in the West Bank settlements.
Despite the cold response from the Palestinians, Aronson believes that Netanyahu government is trying to make a balance when dealing with Abbas and Hamas, the other Palestinian faction.
Israeli government is considering "a balance between gestures to Abbas and the deal with Hamas", Aronson told Xinhua, referring to the reported agreement between Israel and Hamas on the release of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
There is huge speculation in the local media this week that the two sides will soon reach an agreement on the release of Shalit in exchange for freeing hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, which, in the eyes of analysts, would boost Hamas' position in the next Palestinian election.
But the press conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday ended without a single word on Shalit.
However, Gilboa is of the opinion that Netanyahu's latest move will only make Abbas in a more difficult position. "He is so weak, " said Gilboa, adding that he does not believe Abbas now has enough power to push forward the peace process.
Gestures towards Americans
While urging the Palestinians to make reciprocal steps, the Israelis also throw a ball to the US President Barack Obama, analysts suggest.
"It's clear that this was a request by the Palestinians for a gesture to Abu Mazen (Abbas). But if you ask me, the gesture here is towards the Americans, not towards Abu Mazen," Israeli former head of National Security Council Giora Eiland told local news service Ynet when commenting Netanyahu's decision on settlement limit.
The idea is partially agreed by Gilboa. In his opinion, Netanyahu has echoed the two-state concept months ago in the first place and now took another step on the settlement issue under Obama administration's pressure.
Analysts' comments apparently get proofs from Israel Foreign Minister Ehud Barak when he mentioned in his remarks the further proposal of U.S. after the new development.
"I believe the talks will be renewed after the Americans make their proposal. The alternative is diplomatic stagnation that could result in violence," Barak told Israel Radio on Thursday.
Aronson also shares the opinion that when Netanyahu takes the step to limit the settlement construction, he will make some request for Washington, but "maybe Obama has done something."
He speculated that US has provided Israel with some defense offers in concern with Iran, which is regarded by the Jewish state as its big security threat, if not the biggest.
Israel and the US ended early this month a large-scale joint air defense exercise dubbed "Juniper Cobra." And Netanyahu travelled to the United States to meet with Obama on Nov. 9, with no details of the meeting revealed by the two sides.
However, after US Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton welcomed Israel's announcement on West Bank settlement constraint to revive peace talks with Palestinians, as Israeli daily Haaretz' s Correspondent Akiva Eldar wrote, "the ball - a ball of fire - has returned to the White House's course."
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