Israel: "New settler home permits suspended"

After spelling out the steps Israel has taken over the last eight months to change the situation on the ground - from removing checkpoints to increasing the hours of operation at the Allenby Bridge - Gal said that Israel expected the international community to "support this far-reaching step," which he said could re-ignite the diplomatic process.

Barak, meanwhile, said at a closed meeting at his ministry in Tel Aviv, "We are talking about a unilateral step, at the government's initiative, which has been coordinated with the United States, with the intention of advancing the diplomatic process with the Palestinians."

The "ball is now in the Palestinians' court:

Earlier Thursday, Likud Minister Yossi Peled told residents of the Efrat settlement that he believed the measures were necessary to jump-start the peace process.

He said settlement construction would resume if the Palestinians refused to come to the negotiation table.

Peled, who has non-voting observer status on the security cabinet, told the Post, "It is very clear that we are freezing [new permits] for 10 months to try and get the Palestinians back to the negotiating table." If the process remains deadlocked, he added, "we will return to regular building."