Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu returns to Israel on Thursday from a series of meetings in Rome and Paris. Settlements are a source of tension.
Nearly all of the leaders with whom Netanyahu met told him that Israel must cease Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria. They did not mention Arab construction in these areas.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Netanyahu that he is speaking “as your friend,” and instructed him, "You must conduct confidence-building measures, and the first must be the absolute freeze on construction in the settlements." Similarly, Italy’s Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said, “A freeze on settlements is important.” 
Sanctions on Iran: “If not now, when? We are committed to the future of the Jewish nation. No one in the world will defend the Jews if the Jews do not protect themselves.” 
Italian Leader Goes Softer
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, however, went a little easier on Netanyahu. Berlusconi is considered one of Israel’s top allies in Europe, and Netanyahu said after their meeting, “It would be hard to find a better friend.” The Italian leader warmly endorsed Netanyahu’s recent call for a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes Israel as a Jewish one.
Regarding Judea and Samaria, Berlusconi said Israel should "send signals" on stopping Jewish construction in those Biblical areas.
Netanyahu: Arguing About Settlements Wastes Time
Netanyahu, for his part, does not like the over-emphasis on the settlements issue. “The more we argue over this topic,” he said in an interview on Italian television, “the more we will waste time, instead of advancing in the peace process.”
Netanyahu said that in any event, Jewish construction in eastern Jerusalem, “an inseparable part of the State of Israel,” is a different story than construction in Judea and Samaria.
Addressing an audience of leading Jewish community members in Paris on Wednesday, Netanyahu issued a strong call for sanctions against Iran. “If not now, when?” he said repeatedly. “We are committed to the future of the Jewish nation. No one in the world will defend the Jews if the Jews do not protect themselves.”Netanyahu Hesitant on Settlements
Though Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and other Israeli leaders have said that construction will continue at least in tandem with “natural growth” needs, Netanyahu does not appear confident in his path. He is reportedly seeking US agreement for a compromise formulation that will enable construction to proceed. One proposal calls for allowing only additional floors to existng buildings, another says that only public buildings will be constructed, and yet a third - not one expected to receive approval from Netanyahu's government coalition - calls for a temporary absolute freeze on all building.
A meeting that had been scheduled for the end of this week between Netanyahu and U.S. President Obama's Middle East envoy George Mitchell has been postponed, apparently by the Israeli leader. Instead, Defense Minister Ehud Barak will travel to Washington next week to hold talks with Mitchell, reportedly in order to give Israel more time to come up with compromise ideas on the settlements issue.
Gold: Pressure on Settlements is Exaggerated
Former Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dr. Dore Gold is more optimistic. “Netanyahu is succeeding in transmitting his view to the world,” he told Arutz-7’s Hebrew newsmagazine on Thursday. “We tend to exaggerate when we talk about the tremendous pressures on Israel. There is simply a curiosity and a desire by the countries to see how the basis of a future agreement can be built.”
“Netanyahu has drawn his important red lines,” Gold continued. “For instance, he has made it clear that Jerusalem will remain united [under Israeli sovereignty – ed.], as opposed to Olmert’s having agreed to the internationalization of Jerusalem.”
Barak's Plan
Defense Minister Barak, on the eve of his departure for Washington, is hoping that his easing of travel for Arabs in the PA-areas – removal of most checkpoints and the issuing of hundreds of free-pass BMC (businessman) cards – will encourage the Americans to be more lenient on the matter of settlements. "If we have significant progress in talks with the Palestinians, the issue of the settlements will become less central," Haaretz reported Barak as saying.