Israel to Offer Steps Toward Recognizing Palestine in Return for US Support

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will reportedly renew his proposal on Tuesday to make steps toward a two-state solution deal with Palestinians in return for US support for Israeli settlements in the contested West Bank, Israeli media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Netanyahu first proposed this way out of the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian crisis to US State Secretary John Kerry during his trip to Washington two weeks ago, a senior Israeli official said, as cited by the Haaretz newspaper on Tuesday.

Later today, Kerry is due to arrive in Jerusalem for talks with Netanyahu where he is expected to call on Israelis and Palestinians to make peace.

The Israeli outlet quoted its source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as saying that Netanyahu "made it clear that we want American recognition of the settlement blocs and of the fact that we can build there."

The West Bank has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War between Israelis and Palestinians. The UN estimates that some 500,000 Jewish settlers live illegally in the West Bank, including West Jerusalem.