Opposition Foreign Affairs spokesman Leo Brincat said the Israeli government’s proposal to order some Jewish settlements to be abandoned was a positive step. “But for real progress to be made, all settlements should be abandoned and Israel should retreat to pre-1967 borders. The Israelis must also seriously address the Palestinian refugee problem,” he said.

Mr Brincat said that for the US-backed Middle East road map for peace to succeed, steps needed to be taken to ensure that Jewish settlers are not given permission in advance to build settlements in Palestinian territory.

“Agreement should be reached through negotiation between the concerned parties, not through unilateral action,” said Mr Brincat. He said that was the spirit in which former US President George Bush (Snr) had written to the Palestinian people in 1991 and that is the spirit in which negotiations should be conducted in the future.

Mr Brincat said it was expected that the United States would show, in an unequivocal manner, that it will not accept any Jewish settlements in the West Bank in the context of peace in the Middle East.