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’US stops urging settlement freeze’

08 December 2010 05:01 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The United States has quit asking Israel to extend a partial freeze on its settlement activities on the occupied Palestinian lands, a senior White House official says, APA reports quoting Press TV.

â€œAfter consultations with the parties, we’ve determined that a moratorium extension will not at this time determine the best basis for resuming direct negotiations," the official who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP on Tuesday.

In late September, Israel rejected to extend the 10-month partial freeze on its construction and expansion of illegal Jewish settlements. The refusal stalled Tel Aviv’s direct talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA), which had started earlier that month in the United States.

The PA has demanded an end to Israeli settlement activities in return for the resumption of negotiations.

Washington recently offered to give Tel Aviv 20 F-35 fighters and veto any anti-Israeli resolution at the United Nations Security Council in exchange for a three-month halt to the activities.