WASHINGTON (JTA) — Israel and the United States agree on everything except settlements, Israel’s foreign minister said.
"There are many issues currently discussed by the United States and ourselves, at least 20 different points, and I think that we agree on 19 of those points," Avigdor Lieberman said Thursday in Washington in a meeting with Israeli reporters, according to media reports.
Lieberman said that one area of disagreement was settlements, but he felt there was "good will to bridge over the differences."
"We are trying to put everything on the table in the most candid fashion," he said, "and we believe that the best mediator is direct talks between the sides."
Lieberman reiterated that Israel would not stop the "natural growth" of settlements, saying, "We are not prepared to strangle our own people."
