Israel today signalled it was sticking to a plan to extend its largest West Bank settlement to Jerusalem, despite President Bush’s demand for a halt to all Jewish expansion.The controversy threatened to create tensions between the two allies ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s talks with Bush in the US next week. Hoping to keep the matter from clouding the summit at Bush’s Texas ranch, Israeli diplomats were quick to assure Washington that no building was imminent under a blueprint for 3,500 new homes between the Maale Adumim settlement and Jerusalem. But that did not stop Bush from taking an apparent swipe at the Maale Adumim project. ‘‘The roadmap is important. And it calls for no expansion of the settlements,’’ he said on Tuesday.On Wednesday, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni made it clear that Israel was ready to press ahead with its settlement plans. ‘‘The US is refraining from supporting Israel’s plans for future building (in settlements) but that does not mean Israel should not strengthen (the settlements),’’ she told Army Radio. —Reuters
