Israel rejects Clinton claim of no settlement agreement
HILARY LEILA KRIEGER and HERB KEINON , THE JERUSALEM POST Jun. 7, 2009
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1244035012765&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

Just after US President Barack Obama's landmark address in Cairo, and just
before US Mideast envoy George Mitchell returns to the region on Tuesday,
the dispute between Washington and Jerusalem over settlement construction
ratcheted up a notch.

Israeli officials rejected on Saturday a statement by US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton dismissing Israeli assertions that the Bush administration
had agreed to allow some construction in the settlements to allow for
natural growth.

"There is no memorialization of any informal and oral agreements. If they
did occur, which, of course, people say they did, they did not become part
of the official position of the United States government," Clinton told
reporters on Friday, in a news conference with her Turkish counterpart,
Ahmet Davutoglu, at the State Department.

Recently, Israeli officials, buttressed by some former Bush administration
appointees, have maintained that Jerusalem retained tacit US approval to
build in already existing settlements, so long as new settlements were not
created, the lines of the settlements' boundaries did not expand and no
government aid was given to these residents.

Some Israeli officials are contending that the US is backtracking on
previous understandings which were vital to Israel supporting both the Gaza
disengagement, and the road map, a three-stage process leading towards a
Palestinian state which called for a halt to settlement construction,
including for natural growth.

Clinton said that despite reports of such understandings, which were
outlined by former deputy national security adviser Elliott Abrams in The
Washington Post in April, "There are contrary documents that suggest that
they were not to be viewed as in any way contradicting the obligations that
Israel undertook pursuant to the road map. And those obligations are very
clear."

In response, a senior government official reiterated Jerusalem's position
that understandings "were reached between the Israel and American government
concerning settlements, and on the basis of those understanding Israel
accepted the road map and disengaged from the Gaza Strip. Those
understandings have been confirmed publicly by leading officials of the Bush
administration."

Clinton and other State Department officials have also repeatedly refused to
endorse a written document in 2004 from then US president George W. Bush to
former prime minister Ariel Sharon, in which he acknowledged that it was not
realistic to expect Israel to pull back completely to the June 1967 lines,
something Israel interpreted as US support for its holding on to the large
settlement blocs close to the Green Line.

Israel officials have long maintained that construction in these specific
settlement blocs should not be subject to the same restraints imposed on
other settlements, which are mostly located outside of the security fence
and often near Palestinian population centers.

When the subject of whether the US felt bound by the Bush letter was raised
with State Department Assistant Secretary Philip Crowley on Wednesday, he
referred to Israeli and Palestinian obligations under the road map.

Asked whether this meant the US was not bound by the letter, he replied, "I
would suggest that you keep focusing on the road map."

Despite the differences, a senior administration official told The Jerusalem
Post shortly after Obama's speech in Cairo Thursday that "there's a
professional, constructive dialogue on this issue," and that "we have
differences, but believe we can find an arrangement that works."

The settlement issue is expected to be a primary focus of Mitchell's
discussions here this week.

The settlements issue has become a major flash point between the US and
Israeli governments, as Obama and his top deputies have frequently and
publicly repeated the demand that settlement construction stop, despite the
political complications that creates for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
and his coalition.

Obama himself attempted to defuse some of the tension during his European
trip this weekend, however, pointing out that his demands have been
long-standing US policy.

He also stressed that he is not only making demands of Israel.

"I've discussed the importance of a cessation of settlement construction,"
he said in France Saturday, "but I also want to reemphasize, because that's
gotten more attention than what I've also said, which is the Palestinians
have to renounce violence, end incitement, improve their governance capacity
so that Israelis can be confident that the Palestinians can follow through
on any commitments they make across the table."

The day before, in Germany, he also emphasized his call for the Arab states
to take decisive action.

"The Arab states have to be a part of this process. It's not sufficient just
to point at the Palestinian problem and then say we are not going to engage,
we're not going to take responsibility," he said.

"They are going to have to step up as well because the Arab states not only
are important politically, they're also important economically. And to the
extent that they put their shoulder behind the wheel, that can move the
process forward in a significant way."

He referred to them making economic and diplomatic moves towards Israel as
the process gains momentum.

Obama also reiterated the importance of a two-state solution and making
progress toward that goal, referring to "the need for all of us to redouble
our efforts to bring about two states, Israel and a Palestinian state, that
are living side by side in peace and security."

He added, "I think the moment is now for us to act on what we all know to be
the truth, which is that each side is going to have to make some difficult
compromises."

In a joint press conference with Obama in France on Saturday, French
President Nicolas Sarkozy joined the US president in calling on Israel to
stop settlement construction.

On Iran, the two presidents again mutually called for the Islamic Republic
not to develop a nuclear weapons program.

Obama said there must be "tough diplomacy" with Teheran on the nuclear
issue. Sarkozy said he worried about "insane statements" by President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Meanwhile, Obama on Friday delayed for another six months moving the US
Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, in what has become a bureaucratic ritual
since Congress passed a law in 1995 requiring the move.

An escape clause in the Jerusalem Embassy Act allows the president to delay
the move every six months if he determines it contrary to US security
interests.

"US policy on Jerusalem has not changed; Jerusalem is a final-status issue
to be resolved in peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians," a White
House official said Friday.

AP contributed to this report.