Mr. Netanyahu thanked Mr. Ban for his "good intentions," but he said the settlement question should be dealt with as part of a final agreement.
Bush urged him to continue working with Baker on the peace process, but the two of them had another private chat in the President's office on the settlement question "to clear the air," as one official put it.
The senior Israeli official noted that the joint statement after the meeting in New York did not include any reference to freezing settlements, calling it a sign that the two sides were working in a broader framework and saying that Mr. Barak was making progress in putting the settlement question into a context that Israel considered appropriate.
If the majority means that these pre-settlement questions are what matters, then how does it reconcile its statement with its basic conclusion that "settlement is relevant" to class certification, or with the numerous lower court authority that says that settlement is not only relevant, but important?
It seems inevitable that as details emerge about why people in superficially similar situations got different settlements, questions of fairness will increase.Mr Feinberg's own role has been controversial.
Perhaps most urgently, it would broaden the debate from the narrow confines of the settlements question.
But the Samaria Regional Council, which represents the northern settlements, questioned the widespread assumption that it was perpetrated by Jews.
Neither mentioned any substantive change in policy, including on the deeply divisive settlements question, which could break the impasse in talks with the Palestinians.
Baker shared his basic sentiments, but argued that with Shamir so close to agreeing to talk with Palestinians, now was not the time to raise the settlements question.
Were a trial to come, expect the citation of ameliorating factors.Other facets of the settlement raise questions, too.
