Ambassador Oren: Israel offered incentives package
In interview with Washington Post, Oren says US administration has come back to Israel with number of suggestions that would 'enable government to maybe pass limited extension of 2 or 3 months'
In an interview with the Washington Post Oren said that the US administration has "come back to Israel with a number of suggestions - incentives if you would - that would enable the government to maybe pass a limited extension of two or three months."
In the interview he mentioned the Arab League assembly which is set to convene Friday."They (Americans) are talking to the Palestinians as well trying to keep them at the table and talking to the Arab League so that it would give the Palestinians another green light to continue (negotiations)," he said, adding that a clearer picture would be available "in the next 48 hours."
Oren laid the blame on the Palestinians, claiming that the settlement construction freeze was a "one-time gesture towards the Palestinians and the US president in order to get everyone back to the negotiating table.
"The Palestinians said they would not begin negotiations unless there was a complete construction freeze in the settlements. In fact, the Palestinians wasted most of the freeze period and only began discussing talks after eight months," he said.
Oren also discussed the difficulties of an additional construction freeze decision, saying it created multiple diplomatic problems for the prime minister and the coalition, which includes both right-wing, left-wing and centrist parties.
"Netanyahu is concerned that if his credibility is questioned over the freeze, by the end of the negotiations, when he needs to face Israelis and tell them that the two-state solution is for their own good, no one will believe him," said the ambassador.
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