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US says talks still ongoing on Israeli settlements

WASHINGTON, Sept 27 (KUNA) -- The United States affirmed late on Sunday that it will remain in touch with Palestinians and Israelis in the coming days to address the expiration of Israel's settlement freeze moratorium.
Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J. Crowley told reporters that US policy "on settlement construction has not changed. We remain in close touch with both parties and will be meeting with them again in the coming days". "We remain focused on the goal of advancing negotiations toward a two-state solution and encourage the parties to take constructive actions toward that goal," he added.
The Palestinian Authority insists that peace talks with Israel would be halted without a compromise on this issue as the expiration of the moratorium just expired.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Quartet Representative Toni Blair for that end. Crowley noted that the US administration keeps "pushing for the talks to continue" as US envoy George Mitchell and Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman also met with Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat in New York yesterday. (end) jm.aj KUNA 270905 Sep 10NNNN