Ahead of a foreign policy speech Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is expected to deliver Sunday, where he will outline his vision for the future of Israel and the region, the prime minister met coalition partners for discussions.
Netanyahu was meeting with Shas MKs and ministers on Friday at noontime. A statement from Interior Minister Eli Yishai's office said he would advise Netanyahu to avoid saying things which would directly confront the United States but to stress that Israel would continue building in large settlement blocs, demand that Palestinians cease incitement to violence and recognize the Jewish state.
The issue of building in large settlement blocs in order to accommodate natural population expansion has become a point of contention between Israel and the US. While Washington demands a total halt to all aspects of the settlement project, Israel maintains that while it will not build new settlements and remove existing illegal ones, building inside the perimeters of large settlements is permissible.
Netanyahu's address follows several weeks of American pressure as well as a speech given by US President Barack Obama to the Muslim world in Cairo last week, where he again reiterated the US demand to halt all construction in the settlements.
Also Friday, Netanyahu met with members of Habayit Hayehudi, a small Zionist religious party and another member of the coalition.
MK Zevulun Orlev, No. 2 in the party, was quoted by Israel Radio as saying after the meeting that he was "much relieved" to hear from Netanyahu about his planned speech.
Netanyahu also met with the European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana, a day after Solana met with opposition leader Tzipi Livni (Kadima), with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and with President Shimon Peres.
Solana told Netanyahu there was "no better plan" than the two-state plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and also added that he was making efforts to renew Syrian-Israeli negotiations through Turkish mediation.
On Thursday, Peres made his opinion clear when he put his weight behind the creation of a Palestinian state with provisional borders.
"The road map outlines a clear path and [the sides] should implement the second stage of the road map - declaring a Palestinian state with temporary borders," Peres said Thursday in a meeting with Solana.
Peres's comments were widely seen as an attempt to influence Netanyahu, who - according to sources close to him - is still putting the final touches on his address. Barak has also spoken in recent days about a Palestinian state with provisional borders.
According to a statement issued by Peres's office, the president told Solana that Israel and the Palestinians should make a clear commitment that the provisional borders would become permanent within a fixed period.
Sources close to Netanyahu said the idea was an old one, and had not gained much traction within the Prime Minister's Office. Some argue that creating a Palestinian state with provisional borders would greatly reduce US pressure on the government.
The discussion in Israel was answered resolutely by the Palestinians on Friday, when top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who has led peace talks between the previous government and the Palestinian Authority, said the Palestinians totally rejected the notion of provisional borders.
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