Israel tests America?s Mideast resolve

An end to settlements is a top priority for Abbas as he sat down with Obama yesterday afternoon. Obama, in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, told the Israeli leader that his government must stop putting up or expanding Jewish housing in the West Bank, land the Palestinians want for a state separate from Israel ? the so-called two-state solution. In the Obama meeting, Netanyahu refused to commit to ending settlement activity and would not sign on to the two-state solution, even though previous Israeli governments had accepted that as part of the so-called ?road map? that would guide peace negotiations. The Israeli government?s blunt rejection of the call for ending settlements was issued after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton restated the US position on Wednesday; Kazinform cites the Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version