How hard will Obama press Israel on settlements?

JERUSALEM The unresolved dispute between the United States and Israel over Israel's refusal to halt building Jewish homes in the predominantly Palestinian West Bank has created a pivotal dilemma for President Barack Obama: How hard should he push one of America's most important allies in the Middle East? So far, Obama has limited his pressure to calculated public comments, calling Israeli settlement construction illegitimate and a roadblock to a lasting peace agreement with the Palestinians that would include a Palestinian state. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is scheduled to meet Obama aides Tuesday in the U.S. in the latest bid to find a compromise. In the face of American demands that Israel halt all settlement building in line with the 2003 "road map" for Middle East peace, Israeli leaders are floating the idea of... [read full story]                    

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