Netanyahu refuses to extend settlement freeze

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, — Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to extend his government’s decision on freezing settlement building in the West Bank, Hebrew media reported on Thursday.

Haaretz quoted Netanyahu as telling visiting Spanish foreign minister Miguel Moratinos in Jerusalem on Wednesday that extending the decision would lead to dissolving the coalition government.

The report follows news on American guarantees and efforts to start direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians under Egyptian patronage.