US, Israel strike settlement deal
JERUSALEM. July 9. KAZINFORM An Israeli newspaper said on Wednesday Israel had won agreement from the United States for the continued construction of 2,500 housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, despite US calls for a freeze, Kazinform cites The Arab News.
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said the United States and Israel have been trying to find common ground on the settlement issue, but he had no comment on the unsourced front-page report of a deal in the Maariv daily. But a US official denied that Washington had agreed to the continued construction in the West Bank.
The report followed a briefing by Defense Minister Ehud Barak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his talks in London on Monday with US envoy George Mitchell on ending a rift with Washington over its demand for a settlement freeze, Kazinform refers to The Arab News.
See www.arabnews.com for full version.