Secretary of State Kerry held talks on Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has hinted that he may return to the negotiating table with the Palestinians.

Kerry met Netanyahu for dinner in a hotel and was scheduled to drive to Amman, Jordan, where he was to hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday. The US secretary of state has visited the region five times since March, in an effort get the Israelis and Palestinians talking again.

There has been growing speculation in recent days that Netanyahu may have relented from his typical hard-line nationalist stance. The Haaretz newspaper quoted an anonymous, "senior cabinet member" of Netanyahu's Likud Party as saying that the premier was prepared to give up most of the West Bank as part of a peace deal.

According to the Haaretz source, Netanyahu also understood that Jewish settlements would have to be evacuated. Science and Technology Minister Yaakov Peri said the same to Israeli Army Radio on Thursday.

"Netanyahu knows there will be a painful evacuation of a number of settlements that are not in the settlement blocs, and that there will be a land swap," said Peri, a member of the centrist Yesh Atid party.

"Netanyahu is much more ready than in the past, whether it's for ideological or practical reasons, for an immediate return to the negotiating table," he continued.

'Peace rests on security'

In a speech commemorating the death of Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism, Netanyahu said on Thursday that security remained the key pillar of any deal.

"Peace rests on security," Netanyahu said. "It is not based on goodwill or legitimacy as some think. It is based, first and foremost, on our ability to defend ourselves."

The prime minister also rejected the idea of a single state for both Israelis and Palestinians, saying that "we do not want a bi-national state."

Settlements in East Jerusalem

Just before Kerry's arrival in the region on Wednesday, the construction of 69 new settlements were authorized in East Jerusalem, the predominantly Arab part of the city.

While Britain and France condemned the move as a violation of international law, the response from Washington was mute. A senior official travelling with Kerry said on the condition of anonymity that "steps like this are unhelpful."

The peace process between Israelis and Palestinians broke down in 2010 over settlements. Palestinians demand a halt to settlement building as precondition for negotiations. Netanyahu has said there should be no preconditions for talks. Currently, there are 500,000 Jewish settlers living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

"Israel has a selected repertoire awaiting US officials…which includes settlements, settlements and more settlements," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Thursday. "The international community should understand that in order to create the right environment for negotiations, it should not grant impunity to Israel over its repeated crimes and violations."

slk/ipj (AP, AFP, Reuters)