Mubarak urges PM to extend freeze for 3 more months

PMO says position on settlement freeze has not changed, rejects report saying US advised expanding moratorium on West Bank construction.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, AP
Men building 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Men building 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Thursday that he has urged Israel to expand the 10-month moratorium on West Bank settlement construction for three more months to give peacemaking a chance.
Mubarak said he told Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu the delay could give the two sides time to draft their future borders. After those lines are agreed, Mubarak reasoned, Israel can build within its future borders and the Palestinians within theirs.
RELATED:Opinion: End this freeze!Netanyahu faces coalition threats from both sides
His comments were carried in excerpts from an upcoming interview broadcast on Israel Radio.
Mubaraks comments came hours after the Prime Minister's Office issued a statement in response to reports that the Obama administration wants Israel to extend the moratorium, saying that "we won't comment on the content of negotiations."
"Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu's position regarding the time period allotted for the West Bank building moratorium is well known, and has not changed," the statement continued.
London-based paper A-sharq al-Awsat reported that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had agreed to the US suggestion of expanding the settlement freeze.