(IsraelNN.com) A delegation of senior government officials is in Washington to discuss whether the U.S. demands a settlement freeze throughout Judea and Samaria, or whether it will allow construction in areas such as Gush Etzion and Maaleh Adumim. In either event, nationalist sources fear it indicates the planned end of Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria.

No date has been set for the Annapolis conference - though Prime Minister Olmert says he is reserving Nov. 27. It is widely felt that Israel will announce a formal and total freeze on Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria (Yesha) in the days leading up to the conference.  Danny Dayan, head of the Yesha Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria, told Arutz-7 on Tuesday after a meeting with the Prime Minister, that he was horrified to learn that the settlement freeze had become "official policy," and not just a means by which to pressure the residents of Yesha.

Among the officials who flew to Washington Tuesday night to prepare the freeze are Foreign Ministry Director-General Aharon Abramowitz, Prime Minister Olmert's top aides Yoram Turbovitch and Shalom Turjeman, and Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan, head of the IDF's Plans and Policy Wing.

The Olmert government is also prepared to declare its willingness to dismantle unauthorized outposts throughout Yesha, government sources added. It is felt, however, that this is a long-standing threat that is not in immediate danger of being implemented.

"These gestures are meant to make it clear that Israel does not intend to remain in the territories, and understands that its presence there is only temporary."
Haaretz correspondent Aluf Benn reports that the U.S. has been exacting a price of late from Israel for its refusal to discuss the "core issues" of a final-status agreement until after Annapolis. The price has taken the form of pressure to agree to freeze all construction and/or destroy outposts.

"These gestures are meant to make it clear," Benn sums up, "that Israel does not intend to remain in the territories, and understands that its presence there is only temporary."

Though Jerusalem and its division have dropped somewhat from the public eye, the danger to both it, and to Judea and Samaria, is still very much extant.  MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) told Arutz-7, "There are things that they mention publicly, and things they mention quietly; things they mention before Annapolis, and things that are left for after Annapolis.  But make no mistake: All of Israel's red lines are being crossed, and the danger is acute.  The government is declaring open season for the Arabs to come and take whatever they want - future borders, Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, refugees, and everything else."

Dayan said he told Olmert that the Annapolis-planned transfer of 120,000 Jews from their homes in Judea and Samaria is something that Israel, as a society, will not be able to survive.  "Such a move would break the backbone of our society," Dayan told the Prime Minister.