The (Non)Agreement Brouhaha

The argument over what was or was not agreed on settlements under President
George W. Bush continues. Was there a freeze? Was natural growth allowed? I
remain skeptical that there was any agreement to allow "natural growth"
unless and until someone produces evidence that Bush, Rice, and Hadley
believed an Israeli-U.S. agreement had been reached and implemented.

The evidence on the Israeli side is mixed. Some statements, including from
Sharon, suggest Israel was talking as if there was an agreement to allow
Israeli natural growth in areas that Israel would keep even under a two-sate
scenario. Yet I have seen no evidence that Israel took steps to implement an
agreement by 1) mapping the build and no-build zones in the West Bank 2)
stopping construction in no-build parts of the West Bank.

At least the argument has been good for the op-ed industry:

Elliott Abrams, "The Settlement Freeze Fallacy," Washington Post, April 8,
2009.

Elliott Abrams, "Hillary Is Wrong About the Settlements," Wall Street
Journal, June 26, 2009.

Lara Friedman, "The Settlers¹ Lawyer (or, Elliott Abrams Is At It Again)."

Daniel Kurtzer, "The Settlement Facts," Washington Post, June 14, 2009.

Dov Weissglass, "Agreements must be honored," ynetnews.com, July 2, 2009.