Palestinians Ease Demands for Settlement Freeze

The Associated Press reports:

The Palestinians are ready to drop their demand for a complete Israeli settlement construction freeze and resume peace talks if Israel accepts a U.S. proposal calling for a broad Israeli withdrawal from territories captured in 1967, a senior Palestinian official told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The official said the Palestinians have presented their ideas to American mediators visiting the region in recent days in an effort to get long-stalled negotiations moving again. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing a sensitive diplomatic proposal.