Sarkozy asks Netanyahu for 'total freeze' on settlements
PARIS – French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday asked Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu to impose a "total freeze" on Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
However, the hawkish leader, on his first visit to Europe since taking office in April, replied that "normal life" goes on amid international pressure for direct talks with the Palestinians.
"The president of the republic called on Israel to immediately take all possible measures to encourage confidence" in its talks with the Palestinians, "beginning with the total freeze of settlement activities," a French presidency statement said.
Netanyahu had flown into Paris from Rome for one-on-one talks with Sarkozy lasting more than an hour, amid reports of a fall-out with Washington over Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
He had been due to meet US Middle East envoy George Mitchell in the French capital but the talks were called off amid reports -- denied by Israeli officials -- of a clash over its refusal to stop building more settlements.
"We will not build new settlements and we will not expropriate additional lands for settlements. We know that our people are living there and, pending a final, political settlement, they have to live a normal life," said Netanyahu.
Paris, like Washington, wants a complete halt to Jewish settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, but the Israeli leader has already said he will allow for "natural growth" within existing settlements.
The international community considers all settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Israel seized in the 1967 Six Day war, to be illegal.
The Palestinians have said they will not meet Netanyahu until Israel halts all settlement activity. The presence of 280,000 Israelis in more than 100 settlements across the territory has been a major obstacle to peace efforts.
Sarkozy, keen to act as a Middle East peace-broker, has previously welcomed as "an important step forward" Netanyahu's landmark endorsement of a Palestinian state, despite a set of conditions that were rejected outright by Palestinian leaders.
But US President Barack Obama's willingness to talk to Iran's leaders is a source of friction with the Israeli leadership, amid tensions that could be compounded by the cancellation of talks with Mitchell in Paris.
Israel's Yediot Aharonot newspaper quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying Washington issued a "stern" message to Netanyahu concerning its demands that Israel halt all growth in settlements on occupied Palestinian land.
In Paris, the Israeli leader stressed past good relations with Washington.
"We have, as President (Barack) Obama said, unbreakable bonds of friendship, common ideals, common values and common interests with the United States," Netanyahu said.
On Iran, while Netanyahu repeated earlier praise for the "courage" of the Iranian people, he emphasised the key role that fluid relations with Tehran among traditional allies are now playing in broader Middle East diplomacy.
He said: "What is certain, a point I believe we share with President Sarkozy and responsible governments and leaders everywhere -- and responsible people everywhere -- is such a regime should not acquire nuclear weapons, because this could be a very, very grave development.
"What we need is a change in Iran, a change of policies, for moderation, for freedom and for peace," he added.
