debkafile's Washington sources report that instead of a freeze on all Israeli construction in East Jerusalem, the Obama administration asks Israel to quietly suspend all building licenses and other permits for just four weeks, to give US Middle East envoy George Mitchell a chance to persuade the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to accept US-moderated proximity talks.
Israel did indeed make Abbas an offer of temporary borders, but he turned it down and demanded that the US President "impose" a solution.

Obama proposes to put all contacts with Israel in deep freeze. Netanyahu will fight him through US lawmakers and Jewish Democratic Party donors, form a national unity government and consider going it alone against Iran.

US officials are holding every Israeli decision-maker in sight to siege in a round-the-clock campaign to avert an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. Most Israeli generals are for an attack and believe they can pull it off. American lobbyists are working on the inside to dissuade them.

The Israeli prime minister miscalculated badly when he counted on a US-Israeli document drawn up to bridge differences smoothing his path to the White House. He found President Barack Obama unwilling to listen - only to lay down the law on Jerusalem, Iran and the Palestinians. US officials heard ...

Israel feels the Obama administration has been stringing it along. The urgency of sanctions suddenly receded in Washington at the very moment that Jerusalem believed they were fully aligned on the handling of Iran's nuclear program. But the US insists the policy is still in place despite difficulties.