Israeli settlement moratorium set to end

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today urged Jewish settlers to act with restraint
once a limited building moratorium expires at midnight, an appeal that appeared aimed at keeping Israeli-Palestinian peace talks alive.

The Palestinians have threatened to abandon the U.S.-sponsored talks if the settlements are expanded.

The Rev David-Maria Jaeger, OFM, told Vatican Radio the issue of settlements are a necessary precondition of trust.

He said Palestinians do not believe Israel can be “in good faith about negotiating an end to the occupation if, while negotiating, it is enlarging its actual hold on the territory from which it is negotiating to depart.”