Praise the Lord: Obama Sees ‘Positive Steps’ in Mideast; Mubarak Agrees.

At the White House, President Barack Obama and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt were optimistic about restarting Middle East peace talks.

President Obama said Tuesday that he saw “movement in the right direction” on the thorny issue of Israeli settlement construction in Palestinian areas, and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, a visitor to the White House, said prospects for restarting Middle East peace talks were good.

The leaders’ cautiously optimistic comments coincided with a sign that the Israeli government was trying to lower tensions with the United States on the settlement issue. That signal was in the form of an announcement by Israel’s housing minister that his government had not given final approval for any new housing projects in the West Bank since it took office in late March.
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But see this article entitled "Netanyahu's Defiance of U.S. Resonates at Home -- Polls Show Resistance to Settlement Freeze" in The Washington Post.