Will the Barak-Mitchell meeting manage to relieve some of the tension between Israel and the United States? The White House has expressed its optimism over the chances of making progress during Tuesday's meeting between Defense Minister Ehud Barak and special US envoy George Mitchell, which will be held in New York.
Barak was sent by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with Mitchell in a bid to reach an understanding with the Obama administration about continuing construction in West Bank settlement for natural growth purposes.
White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs refused on Monday night to address reports that the Israeli government has decided to allow construction for natural growth needs, alongside the willingness to agree to a complete freeze for a period of several months.
"I don't want to get ahead of some very important meetings tomorrow between Ehud Barak and George Mitchell, except to say that we're optimistic about making progress," he said.
The US State Department is aware of the criticism, including on the part of commentators and column writers, who say that Israel is being demanded to freeze settlements while the Palestinians and Arabs are sitting on the fence and doing nothing.
Barak met with Mitchell in New York at the beginning of the month for a meeting which lasted more than three hours, most of it face-to-face. This time Barak is expected to arrive with some of his advisors and with Netanyahu's representative, Attorney Yitzhak Molcho.
Barak hopes to reach an understanding with the Obama administration representative about necessary construction for natural growth within existing settlements. However, the winds blowing from the State Department indicate that the administration will insist on a complete freeze of construction.
'Both sides know what this means'
State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly clarified Monday night that stopping settlements was defined very clearly in the Road Map for Peace. "A freeze on all activity relating to settlements, including natural growth, is what it says in the Road Map," he said.
Kelly explained, "We've been working with all the parties to try and come up with an environment conducive to the resumption of negotiations."
He added that "both Israel and the Palestinians need to comply with their obligations under the Road Map, and both sides know exactly what that means. For the Palestinians, it means ending incitements to violence against Israel and demonstrating an ability to provide security. For Israel, it means: Stop the settlements, which is laid out very specifically in the Road Map."
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