Under mounting U.S. pressure, the Netanyahu administration announced in November a 10-month moratorium on new construction projects in West Bank settlements, which Israel dubbed a goodwill gesture aimed to help resume peace talks. Yet the Palestinians dismissed the move as insincere, and have stressed that no talks are possible before Israel completely halts Jewish construction both in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem.
Yet in a U.S.-pressured turn, the Palestinian leadership on Sunday reluctantly gave Abbas the green light to follow a U.S. proposal and enter indirect talks with Israel, yet they meanwhile reiterated that Israel must totally freeze settlement expansion both in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem before any possible resumption of direct talks.
