US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said today that Washington does not accept the legitimacy of Israeli settlement activity but believes that getting to talks is the quickest way to achieve a freeze.
"We do not accept the legitimacy of settlement activity and we have a very firm belief that ending all settlement activity, current and future, would be preferable," Mrs Clinton said after meeting President Hosni Mubarak.
"Getting into final status negotiations will allow us to bring an end to settlement activity," she added.
Cairo is Mrs Clinton's last stop on a tour of the region during which Arab anger has flared over signs the Mr Obama administration no longer backs Palestinian demands that Israel immediately stop building settlements on occupied territory in the West Bank.
US president Barack Obama has eased pressure on Israel over settlements, 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.
Mrs Clinton underscored this shift in emphasis in Jerusalem on Saturday when she hailed Netanyahu's offer on settlement restraint as "unprecedented" and urged the Palestinians to drop their precondition for talks without making any similar specific demands of the Israeli side.
Mrs 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.
Reuters