The U.S. State Department spokeswoman called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to reduce contacts with the Palestinian Authority “unfortunate.”
Possibilities raised during efforts to resolve the current crisis over Israeli-Palestinian peace talks include freeing Jonathan Pollard, a partial settlement freeze, guarantees that Palestinians won’t push for international recognition and a mass prisoner release.
Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and freeze West Bank settlement building, and the United States would free Jonathan Pollard under a deal reportedly discussed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.