France: Problem in Israeli gov't delaying settlement freeze

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said during his visit to Beirut on Friday that France and the United States support putting an end to settlement construction in Israel, but that there is a problem between the "central pillars of the Israeli government", Lebanese daily an-Nahar reported on Saturday.

According to Kouchner, this internal problem is standing in the way of the drafting of a united stance that will serve as a basis for all parties involved in regional peace talks.

The paper quoted the French foreign minister as saying that US President Barack Obama gave Israel a grace period of six months to respond to his demands, but that this period could be extended.

The report came following disagreements between officials in Israel and Washington around a proposal by the US president for peace talks and the terms of the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The report said that Kouchner ruled out the possibility that an international peace conference would be held in Moscow in the near future.

He said this was unlikely, due internal Palestinian conflict between Hamas and Fatah and the contradictions between the stances of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Kouchner did not hide his concerns that the US may back out of sponsoring the Arab-Israeli negotiations due to Israel's "stubbornness, its intentional foot-dragging and its submission to the Israeli lobby in the US to pressure the White House and other officials".

The paper added that the US would not sponsor talks until Israel puts a complete end to settlement construction and gives up on its insistence to maintain natural growth in settlements, and complete the constructions of buildings already underway.