Israel ready for settlements 'compromise'

Israel is ready to reach a "compromise agreement" on extending a partial moratorium on settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, a senior government official told AFP.

"Israel is prepared to reach a compromise acceptable to all parties to consider extending the freeze on construction, provided that the freeze will not be total," said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "making intensive efforts to reach such a compromise before the expiration of the moratorium on September 26."

The curbs on Israeli settlement building in the West Bank, excluding east Jerusalem, end on Sunday, threatening to derail US-backed peace talks between the Jewish state and the Palestinians less than a month after they began.