June 14 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans a policy speech on Sunday aimed at addressing U.S. demands he freeze settlement building and agrees to negotiations on establishing a Palestinian state. Here is President Barack Obama's list of things he wants Netanyahu to do, and the prime minister's possible responses: ACCEPT GOAL OF PALESTINIAN STATE Obama wants Netanyahu to acknowledge Palestine's "right to exist" as a state. Obama said so in a speech on June 4 billed as a start to repairing U.S. relations with Arabs and Muslims. Netanyahu has not used the word "state" but said Israel is bound to past accords, including the 2003 U.S.-backed peace "road map". Israeli officials and Western diplomats say Netanyahu could put an end to this dispute by explicitly backing "statehood" as a goal of negotiations, without serious backlash within his right-leaning coalition. RESTARTING ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN "DIALOGUE" Obama wants Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to resume "dialogue" but it is unclear what Obama intends the talks to entail. Netanyahu has offered to meet Abbas, who has said he would not do so until the Israeli leader accepted a two-state solution and halted all settlement expansion. Netanyahu proposes talks focused on what he terms economic, security and political issues. If by "political" he means discussing the structure of the Palestinian Authority, diplomats say that may not satisfy U.S. hopes for negotiations on the final status of a Palestinian state, its borders with Israel, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of refugees. Such talks could wreck Netanyahu's coalition. HALTING SETTLEMENTS Obama wants Netanyahu to halt building in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, as called for under the "road map". Netanyahu has dug in over "natural growth", saying existing settlements must accommodate growing families. He has followed his predecessors in deflecting U.S. pressure by vowing no new settlements or taking over more Palestinian land. BUILDING IN JERUSALEM Obama has joined the European Union and the United Nations in protesting at Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes in Arab East Jerusalem. Netanyahu has publicly vowed not to accept limitations on building Jewish enclaves in what Israel defines as its capital, the Jerusalem municipality, an area that includes Arab East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank. EASING GAZA BLOCKADE Obama wants Netanyahu to ease Israel's blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Netanyahu is committed to containing and weakening Hamas. But in what could be a gesture to Washington and Arab states, he is considering easing the blockade by opening Israeli-controlled borders to some construction materials, like steel and concrete, to repair damage from Israel's offensive in Gaza at the turn of the year. A fuller reopening of border crossings, as advocated by the United Nations and Western powers to bolster Gaza's moribund economy, looks a long way off as long as a captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, remains in militants' hands. REMOVING WEST BANK ROADBLOCKS Netanyahu plans to remove more West Bank roadblocks and checkpoints. Israel has removed a small number of them in recent weeks as a gesture. U.S. officials are looking for more sweeping changes to help the Palestinian economy. UNAUTHORISED OUTPOSTS Israeli leaders have long promised to remove unauthorised hilltop outposts in the West Bank, as called for under the "road map", but have not done so. Defence Minister Ehud Barak has committed to uprooting more than 20 outposts. Western diplomats say Barak is working on a timeline for talks with settler leaders to persuade them to leave the outposts without a fight. PALESTINIAN SECURITY REFORM Netanyahu has backed U.S. plans to expand a programme to bolster security forces loyal to Abbas. With Israeli approval, Washington intends to send another three battalions to Jordan for training starting this summer. Netanyahu may also allow expanded deployments by Palestinian Authority forces in the northern and central West Bank. Israel sees the programme as a test of Abbas's ability to rein in militants, the main demand set out for the Palestinians in the "road map" for statehood. (Writing by Adam Entous, Editing by Samia Nakhoul) (For blogs and links on Israeli politics and other Israeli and Palestinian news, go to blogs.reuters.com/axismundi)
Islamic Action Front supporters shout anti-Israel slogans during a rally in Amman June 12, 2009 against debate in the Israeli parliament over regarding Jordan as an "alternative homeland" for the Palestinians. ...
