Lieberman to Clinton: Israel won't freeze settlements

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday that Israel could not accept the Obama administration's demand to "completely" halt activity in West Bank settlements... Clinton reiterated that the US viewed a total settlement freeze as an "essential" step toward achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians.... 

Clinton cited a recent Washington Post op-ed by former US ambassador to Israel, Daniel Kurtzer, [stating that] former Bush administration officials said that no formal agreements exist which support Israel's contention that the US approves of settlement settlement construction to accomodate natrual growth...

A member of the Israeli watchdog group Peace Now said Israel was likely to use any U.S. flexibility to ramp up building in the West Bank.

"In the past, any time there was an understanding, the outcome was Israel doubled the number of settlers in the West Bank," he said.  Full story - Haaretz