Israeli cabinet meets, Abbas on settlement issue, refugees
(5 Jul 2009) Jerusalem 1. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman arriving at cabinet meeting 2. SOUNDBITE: (Hebrew) Ehud Barak, Israeli Defence Minster: "We are meeting to advance a broader understanding with the US regarding the political moves and also the regional peace agreement which Israel supports, also on ways to translate the road map, which Israel accepted, with its reservations and understandings, to translate the road map to a joint way agreed upon by us the United States and the other parties for the advancement of the political process with the Palestinians and further opportunities for more processes." 3. Mid of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arriving at meeting 4. Wide of ministers attending meeting 5. SOUNDBITE: (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister: "We have brought a national agreement on the term 'two states for two people', the terms of agreement will be based on the fact that the Palestinians will have to recognise the state of Israel as the Jewish state, and it also means that the problem of refugees will be solved outside the borders of Israel, and that Israel needs and will receive defensible borders, and will include also a full demilitarisation of the Palestinian territory." 6. Mid of cabinet meeting 7. Wide of cabinet meeting Ramallah, West Bank 8. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' convoy arriving at park 9. Abbas walking towards plaque 10. Abbas unveiling plaque 11. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President: "When the Israelis say that the refugee issue is non-negotiable it means they don't want to discuss final status issues." 12. Cutaway of people surrounding Abbas 13. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President: "The continuous settlement expansion is illegal and it must be stopped, when we demand the freeze of all settlements it does not mean we accept what was built before." 14. Abbas standing with people in park 15. Abbas getting into car STORYLINE: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his ministers for a weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem on Sunday morning. Defence Minister Ehud Barak was set to fly to London shortly afterwards to meet US envoy George Mitchell for talks on the continuing stalemate surrounding West Bank settlement growth and expansion. Barak said Israel was considering what it could do to advance the Middle East peace process and allow Palestinian-Israeli negotiations to take off, including instituting a temporary freeze on settlements. The US wants settlement construction halted completely to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Israel's insistence that building within existing settlements be allowed has been an irritant in its relations with President Barack Obama's administration. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said peace talks cannot resume until settlement construction in Palestinian territories comes to a complete halt. "When we demand the freeze of all settlements it does not mean we accept what was built before," he added. Netanyahu marks 100 days in office on Friday and summed up his achievements since being sworn in at the cabinet meeting. He said Israelis agreed that a two state solution was the right approach to reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians, with certain conditions. "The terms of agreement will be based on the fact that the Palestinians will have to recognise the state of Israel as a Jewish state," Netanyahu said. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
