[Big A]

Obama goes back to his failed freezing of settlements scheme. "Harsh steps" against Israel during an election cycle? This is either bluff or political suicide.

The Obama administration reportedly wants Israel to implement a "silent freeze" of Jewish homebuilding in eastern Jerusalem and the mountains of Samaria and Judea to coax the Palestinian Authority (PA) into agreeing to negotiate with Israel.

According to Israeli daily Maariv, the United States wants the freeze to be undeclared and partial. The idea is that Israel will not build new neighborhoods but will be allowed to build within existing ones. Any transgression of these terms will result in "harsh steps" against Israel by the U.S... source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Ne...0#.TqcFgJSe-F8