WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israel is prepared to take additional steps to ease Palestinian movement in the West Bank in a bid to coax Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas into direct peace talks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.
He sidestepped questions on ABC's "Good Morning America" about whether he was prepared to extend beyond September a 10-month moratorium on new housing starts in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
One day after a fence-mending meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House, Netanyahu repeated a call for a restart of peace talks with Abbas. Face-to-face peace negotiations have been suspended since late 2008.
Palestinians have reacted cautiously to Netanyahu's promise of "concrete steps" within weeks to persuade them to hold direct talks.
Netanyahu said he was prepared to take steps including "additional easing of movements" and some economic projects.
"The point is, we are prepared to do them. But what we want to see finally is one thing: We want President Abbas to grasp my hand ... to shake it, sit down and negotiate a final settlement of peace between Israel and the Palestinians," he said.
Netanyahu was scheduled to meet U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and address U.S. Jewish leaders in New York on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Stacey Joyce)
