Elliot Abrams: "Mitchell may not be around ... Israel should buck the Obama administration's call for a settlement freeze"

LR in the CABLE, here

"Mitchell says [the claim] is an utter fabrication," a State Department official told Foreign Policy on behalf of Mitchell Monday. "Mitchell said, ‘I have never experienced the thought, let alone expressed it.'"....

Chatter that Mitchell may not be around in the job for long could be seen as a way to embolden those in Israel and abroad who think Israel should buck the Obama administration's call for a settlement freeze.

Mitchell has been expected to travel to the region this week, but his exact itinerary was said to be in flux. Israeli media are reporting that his plans to come to Israel at this time have been canceled for now. "I think the travel delay may be politics," Abrams, now with the Council on Foreign Relations, said. "I.E., that there's no agreement yet and he doesn't want a failed trip."