Aide: Netanyahu Considering Settlement Freeze

Aug. 26: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S. special envoy to the Middle East for the Obama administration, George Mitchell, in London. (AFP)

JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be willing to consider suspending construction in the West Bank for several months — but first plans to authorize hundreds of new apartments there, an aide said Friday.

The U.S. has been pressing Israel to agree to a settlement freeze, and the Palestinians have said they would not resume peace talks unless Israel suspends construction on lands they want for a future state. Friday's statement was the first time an aide has said in the name of the prime minister's office that such a move could be imminent.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose plans Netanyahu has not officially announced.

It was unclear to what extent Israel would actually freeze construction. Netanyahu made it clear through his aide that Israel does not intend to abandon its West Bank settlement enterprise, and it seemed clear that thousands of units would continue to be built in the West Bank even during a supposed freeze.

In the next few days, the aide said, the prime minister will approve the construction of hundreds of new apartments in the West Bank.

He did not have a specific number. But he said these apartments would be in addition to the 2,500 that are already under construction and will continue to be built.

The construction will be centered in the main settlement blocs, areas Israel hopes to retain after any peace deal, he said.

In exchange for a suspension, Netanyahu would expect the Arab world to take steps toward normalizing relations with Israel, the aide added.

The Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future state, along with east Jerusalem and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, and see continued settlement construction as a sign that Israel is not serious about making peace.