Clinton: US wants Israel settlement halt 'forever'

Cairo: US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says Washington does not accept the legitimacy of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and wants to see their construction halted "forever."

Still, Clinton says an Israeli offer to restrain - but not halt - settlement building represents "positive movement forward."

Clinton spoke after talks Wednesday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during a hastily arranged stopover in Cairo.

She came to soothe Arab concerns that Washington is backing off demands for an Israeli settlement halt, sparked when she praised the Israeli plan in Jerusalem on Saturday.

She has since said Israel's stance does not go far enough, but has hinted the Palestinians should resume negotiations without a full settlement halt.

Cairo is Clinton's last stop on a tour of the region during which Arab anger has flared over signs the Obama administration no longer backs Palestinian demands that Israel immediately stop building colonies on occupied territory in the West Bank.

US President Barack Obama has eased pressure on Israel over colonies, calling for restraint in construction where he had earlier pushed for a freeze. The change has angered Palestinians who say it has killed any hope of reviving peace talks soon.

Clinton underscored this shift in emphasis in Jerusalem on Saturday when she hailed Netanyahu's offer on colony restraint as "unprecedented" and urged the Palestinians to drop their precondition for talks without making any similar specific demands of the Israeli side.

Clinton's visit to Egypt followed a two-day stop in Morocco where she urged Arab foreign ministers to put aside recriminations and support moves to resume the talks, suspended since December.