Well isn't that nice, token gesture pressure on Isreal

JERUSALEM — The U.S. is pressuring Israel to meet a long-standing obligation to freeze all West Bank settlement construction ahead of a high-profile Mideast conference, rejecting Israel's stance that it be allowed to continue building in existing communities, Israeli officials said Sunday.

The officials said that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Cabinet would discuss the settlement issue on Monday, though it remained unclear whether the ministers would endorse any changes in policy.

The U.S. has been urging Israel to make a series of gestures to the Palestinians ahead of the Mideast peace conference, which is expected to take place next week in Annapolis, Md....

.... At the upcoming summit, Israel and the Palestinians hope to announce a formal resumption of peace talks, which broke down in violence seven years ago.

That's odd, that's right about the time Bush took over from Clinton.