Across Asia: Mideast

Clinton: Israel must do more

Israel's offer to restrain settlement expansion is an unprecedented and positive step but still falls short of Washington's wishes, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday.

"The Israelis have responded to the call of the US, the Palestinians and the Arab world to stop settlement activity by expressing a willingness to restrain settlement activity," she told reporters in Marrakesh. "This offer falls far short of what our preference would be."

(China Daily 11/03/2009 page11)