Reacting to settlement freeze announcement

Reaction to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement of a 10-month Israeli settlement construction freeze is starting to come in. First, here is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement:

Today’s announcement by the Government of Israel helps move forward toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We believe that through good-faith negotiations the parties can mutually agree on an outcome which ends the conflict and reconciles the Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps, and the Israeli goal of a Jewish state with secure and recognized borders that reflect subsequent developments and meet Israeli security requirements. Let me say to all the people of the region and world: our commitment to achieving a solution with two states living side by side in peace and security is unwavering.

AIPAC applauded Israel’s announcement:

The move, which goes further than any previous Israeli government in restraining activity, underscores the Jewish State’s unyielding commitment to achieving peace with the Palestinians and all of its Arab neighbors. It also provides a deep expression of Israeli confidence in American diplomacy and Israeli dedication to cooperation with the United States in the pursuit of peace in the Middle East

As Israel acts to fulfill its Roadmap obligations, the Palestinians must meet their reciprocal obligations, come to the negotiating table, and cease incitement against Israel at home and in international bodies. …

[snip]

AIPAC calls on the Palestinians to follow Israel’s lead and drop all preconditions to negotiations, and on the Arab states – Saudi Arabia especially – to heed the calls of both the U.S. House & Senate and President Obama to take immediate and meaningful steps toward normalization.

As for APN, it also welcomed the announcement and hoped it would help catalyze negotiations — while noting that the announcement "does not meet all of America’s expectations:

The Israeli decision also falls short of Israel’s own interests, which are best served by a complete freeze. Expanding settlements creates new points of friction between Israelis and Palestinians. It burdens Israel’s security services. It drains Israel’s financial resources. It increases the barriers to the creation of a viable Palestinian state and thus creates a false impression that Israelis are not interested in a two-state solution.

This announcement is a clear demonstration of the impact that President Barack Obama’s disciplined diplomacy can have. But this is no time for Senator Mitchell and his team to rest on their laurels. This moment must be leveraged for progress towards a negotiated two-state solution.
 
Implemented properly, this moratorium could serve the cause of peace. At the same time, the moratorium alone is not an alternative to negotiations. All parties have a responsibility to push for real talks that can handle the core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the fate of the settlements and conflicting claims to Jerusalem.
 
Israel must now match the drama of this announcement with good faith. Provocative acts that violate the spirit of the moratorium, like proceeding with construction in East Jerusalem, must be avoided. An effort must also be made to stop settler law-breakers from spoiling this moment of opportunity for progress towards peace.

After the jump, the full statements from AIPAC and APN:[[READMORE]]

AIPAC applauds today’s major announcement by Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel’s unilateral moratorium on settlement activity in the West Bank.  The move, which goes further than any previous Israeli government in restraining activity, underscores the Jewish State’s unyielding commitment to achieving peace with the Palestinians and all of its Arab neighbors. It also provides a deep expression of Israeli confidence in American diplomacy and Israeli dedication to cooperation with the United States in the pursuit of peace in the Middle East

As Israel acts to fulfill its Roadmap obligations, the Palestinians must meet their reciprocal obligations, come to the negotiating table, and cease incitement against Israel at home and in international bodies.

As the Obama Administration said in praising this monumental Israeli move today, "the steps announced by the Prime Minister are significant and could have substantial impact on the ground," and the "first time ever" move by Israel is "more that any previous Israeli government has done before."

AIPAC calls on the Palestinians to follow Israel’s lead and drop all preconditions to negotiations, and on the Arab states – Saudi Arabia especially – to heed the calls of both the U.S. House & Senate and President Obama to take immediate and meaningful steps toward normalization.

For over six decades, Israel has consistently offered its hand in peace, demonstrating again and again its willingness to make real and heartrending sacrifices – altering borders, relinquishing territory, uprooting families and entire communities – in the pursuit of peace.

In the past few months alone, Israel has taken dramatic steps to improve the everyday lives of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. Israeli authorities have removed more than 140 roadblocks and inspection points and significantly reduced their security foot print. In addition, Israel has made great efforts to bolster the Palestinian economy – efforts that the International Monetary Fund predicts will result in seven percent GDP growth for the West Bank this year.

Israel is taking meaningful steps and tangible risks for peace.

Now it is time – well past time – for the Palestinians and Arabs States to match Israel’s commitment to peace with actions of their own.

And APN:

Americans for Peace Now (APN) today welcomed the Israeli government’s announcement of a moratorium on most settlement construction and joined the Obama Administration in hoping that this Israeli decision, backed by good faith, will be sufficient to catalyze new Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. Such negotiations are the only real path for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
 
As noted by U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell, the Israeli decision does not meet all of America’s expectations. The United States continues to oppose all settlement construction.
 
The Israeli decision also falls short of Israel’s own interests, which are best served by a complete freeze. Expanding settlements creates new points of friction between Israelis and Palestinians. It burdens Israel’s security services. It drains Israel’s financial resources. It increases the barriers to the creation of a viable Palestinian state and thus creates a false impression that Israelis are not interested in a two-state solution.

This announcement is a clear demonstration of the impact that President Barack Obama’s disciplined diplomacy can have. But this is no time for Senator Mitchell and his team to rest on their laurels. This moment must be leveraged for progress towards a negotiated two-state solution.
 
Implemented properly, this moratorium could serve the cause of peace. At the same time, the moratorium alone is not an alternative to negotiations. All parties have a responsibility to push for real talks that can handle the core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the fate of the settlements and conflicting claims to Jerusalem.
 
Israel must now match the drama of this announcement with good faith. Provocative acts that violate the spirit of the moratorium, like proceeding with construction in East Jerusalem, must be avoided. An effort must also be made to stop settler law-breakers from spoiling this moment of opportunity for progress towards peace.
 
In the wake of this announcement, APN and our sister movement in Israel, Shalom Achshav, will closely monitor events in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, bearing in mind that actions speak louder than words.
 
APN is America’s leading organization advocating for peace for Israel.