Netanyahu likely to support Quartet plan

Israeli sources have confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will on Monday lead a session to formulate the Israeli response to the Quartet’s proposal to resume peace negotiations. Sources in Netanyahu's office said Israel is likely to approve the proposal as it supports a return to negotiations without preconditions. The Quartet’s proposal makes no mention of a settlement freeze or the 1967 borders, which is a proposal likely to please Netanyahu. The Palestinians on the other hand are unlikely to return to the negotiating table without these fundamental guarantees. The settlements issue has been a major stumbling block in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations since the election of Netanyahu’s far-right Likud Party in 2009. Netanyahu has since stepped-up settlement expansion, an action unequivocally banned under international law. Netanyahu will return to Israel today after visiting New York, where he delivered a speech on behalf of Israel to the UN General Assembly. Likud cabinet minister, Gilad Ardenne, said on Sunday morning that Israel is prepared to make concessions and to accept the establishment of a Palestinian state. Ardenne also ruled out the possibility of Israel taking unilateral actions such as applying Israeli law in the West Bank. “Such steps will not teach the Palestinians a lesson, and would instead undermine our efforts to improve Israel’s image, which has been damaged significantly in recent times.”