Israel Matzav: Kerry urges putting 'settlements' aside

Kerry urges putting 'settlements' aside

This comes as something of a surprise. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass>) has come out in favor of tabling the dispute between the United States and Israel over Jewish housing construction in Jerusalem.

John Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was slated to join a host of lawmakers meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who's in town for AIPAC's annual conference. The Cable caught up to Kerry just before his meeting, and the senior senator from Massachusetts said that he will tell Netanyahu that both the United States and Israel should set the settlements issue aside for now.

"I think what's important now is not to get stuck on the issue of the settlement freeze," Kerry told The Cable. "I think what's important is to get to the table and discuss the final-status talks as rapidly as possible."

Kerry noted that calling for a full settlement freeze has been official U.S. policy for years, under both Democratic and Republican administrations. But he said that was just not the most important thing on the table at this point.

"I think the focus ought to be on the talks themselves," he said. "The clock is ticking and that ticking clock works against Israel's security and it works against our interests in the region."

But can he convince the dogmatic Obama administration to drop it?

Israel Matzav: Kerry urges putting 'settlements' aside