Diplomacy

Clinton in Egypt for Middle East Talks

West Bank settlements threaten to derail negotiations.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Egypt on Tuesday to help broker peace talks between Israel and Palestine, but the talks could be over pretty much as soon as they begin: The states are at an impasse over the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Israel is refusing to extend a moratorium on settlement construction that expires this month—and Palestinian officials are saying they will walk out of negotiations if building resumes. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel won’t extend the moratorium but will not build any of the thousands of homes planned for the West Bank, but Palestinians didn’t seem satisfied. Israeli officials are saying that Palestinians’ “all or nothing” stance on the settlements will doom the talks.