Yesterday Israeli officials announced that Israel would be open to a temporary complete freeze of construction in the settlements.  This comes after repeated calls for such a freeze from President Obama and repeated refusals by Israel, who wished to allow room for “natural growth.”  

While the freeze would hold specifically for new construction, not continuing projects or East Jerusalem, it would seem to indicate a significant victory for Obama.  And along with recent measures to give Palestinians more control in the West Bank and the founding of a committee headed by PM Netanyahu to improve their economic situation, topped off by Netanyahu’s recent acceptance of the possibility of a demilitarized Palestinian state, it seems that Israel is truly making an effort to get on board with the new American President.  

How far this will go, with Israel’s right wing coalition and the Israeli wish for Palestinian and Arab reciprocity, is unclear.  The threshold for how much Israel will be willing to concede sans reciprocity is hard to gauge, though it is clear that Israel will not go as far as doing anything that it views as compromising its security.  Still, it is safe to say that Obama has shown himself to have some sway in the Middle East, and it is unlikely to diminish in the near future.

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