Clinton Tries to Calm Arab Fears That U.S. Is Easing Up on Israel Over Settlements.

Struggling to stem protests from the Arab world, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday reiterated that the Obama administration still wanted Israel to freeze construction of Jewish settlements, even if it regarded Israel's compromise offer as ''unprecedented.'' Arab officials expressed alarm that the United States seemed to be easing pressure on Israel after Mrs. Clinton said in Jerusalem on Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal of restrained settlement building was better than anything previous Israeli governments had offered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]