A good meeting – that is how the American State Department is describing the meeting held between lawyer Yitzchak Molcho and Brigadier General Mike Herzog, emissaries for the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister, and the United States special envoy for the Middle East, George Mitchell.

The three met last night in the United Nations building in New York. The spokesman for the State Department, Ian Kelly, said after the meeting, "Senator Mitchell and the Israeli delegation delegation reaffirmed their commitment to comprehensive peace, and concrete steps by all parties toward that goal."

Before the meeting with Mitchell, Molcho and Herzog met with White House officials to discuss efforts being made to resolve the issue of a building freeze in the settlements.

During the meeting between the three envoys, the conversation focused on the difficult questions regarding the place of the settlement building freeze in the framework of a long-term peace plan. One of the questions raised was: What will happen if an agreement is not reached in the immediate future? How long will the larger settlement blocs be expected to honor a request for a building freeze? And how long will the official freeze be in affect for? Six or nine months? What will happen if the Arabs do not fulfill their part of the agreement?

The main message conveyed by the Americans was that everything is in the hands of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanhayu. If he wants to, he can reach a working agreement with the United States, or he can choose to proceed in a manner that will only delay a final agreement.

A US official told American journalists, "Netanyahu’s at a pivotal moment. Depending on what he decides, he could wind up with a very strong relationship with President Obama and potentially become a historic figure in Israel". On condition of anonymity, the source added, "Netanyau has a rare opportunity to forge a close, positive relationship with the President right now."

Another official said, "We are on the verge of something very positive. We have a basic idea of what the agreement will include, and we are nearly finished finalizing the details. A lot depends on the quality of the interaction between the parties involved, and how important peace really is to them."

George Mitchell is expected to visit the region next week.