Israel considers all of Jerusalem as its "eternal, indivisible" capital
A Palestinian laborer clears the debris from a construction site of a new housing project
Jewish settlers build West Bank outpost at Maoz Ester.
Palestinians want a freeze on all settlement activity before restarting peace talks with Israel
Israel has been turning a deaf ear to international calls for a complete freeze on its construction activity on the occupied Palestinian lands in the West Bank.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday said it was up to the Palestinians to decide whether peace negotiations resume, after Israel announced on Wednesday 10-month halt in West Bank settlement construction.
"We've contributed what we could contribute; the Palestinians will make their considerations based on internal considerations that don't need to concern us," Lieberman told Army Radio. "The ball is now in the Palestinian court."
The minister was echoing comments made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after he announced the moratorium. The premier said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas now had "no more excuses" to avoid renewing peace negotiations with Israel.
Washington welcomed Netanyahu's offer, but the Palestinians swiftly rejected it because it did not include a building freeze in Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, the mainly Arab sector of the city they want as the capital of a future state.
The United States has been urging the sides to resume peace talks and said the Israeli move could help them do so
The Obama administration welcomed Israel's temporary freeze of settlement building Wednesday as a way to revive Middle East peace talks, despite its long struggle to break the deadlock.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Israel's announcement "helps move forward toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," and reiterated what she called "unwavering" US support for a two-state solution.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered to freeze new building projects in the occupied West Bank for 10 months, but excluded the construction of public buildings and all construction within mostly Arab east Jerusalem.
The Palestinians immediately rejected the offer as insufficient.
They have demanded east Jerusalem -- which Israel occupied and annexed following the 1967 Six-Day War in a move not recognized by the international community -- as the capital of their future state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
"Netanyahu did not advance any formula for the relaunching of negotiations," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP.
Clinton's top aides insisted that while President Barack Obama's administration stands by its calls for a full settlement freeze in both in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, the Israeli move is "significant."
In a press conference immediately after Clinton's written statement was released, US Middle East envoy George Mitchell said the Israeli move could pave the way for a resumption of peace talks suspended for nearly a year.
"It falls short of a full settlement freeze, but it is more than any Israeli government has done before, and can help move toward agreement between the parties," Mitchell told reporters.
He avoided using the word "unprecedented," after Clinton infuriated the Palestinians by using it on October 31 to describe Netanyahu's offer to "restrict" but not freeze settlement building on the West Bank.
Mitchell said the temporary freeze is "significant" and will "have an impact on the ground," as he highlighted the unprecedented nature of the Israeli government's move.
Some public buildings like synagogues and schools within settlements will be exempted, while buildings already under construction will be completed, he acknowledged.
But overall construction will decline, said Mitchell, a former troubleshooter in the Northern Ireland peace process.
"So implementation of the moratorium could mean much less settlement construction than would occur if there is no moratorium," he said.
Clinton stressed the need to relaunch talks for a Palestinian state living alongside a secure Israel -- which were suspended when Israel launched a deadly 22-day offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza that ended in January.
"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," the chief US diplomat said.
Analysts like former US negotiator Aaron David Miller have accused the Obama administration of getting bogged down in a vain bid to halt Israeli settlements instead of using its muscle to solve core issues like borders, refugees and Jerusalem.
Since taking office 10 months ago, the administration has put high priority on resolving the conflict as part of a broader effort to boost US national security by improving ties with Arab and Muslim nations.
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