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This is an archive article published on September 6, 2009

Israel sticks to its guns over settlement boost

Israel stuck to plans to boost settlement construction before considering a Washington-demanded lull.

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Israel on Sunday stuck to plans to boost settlement construction before considering a Washington-demanded lull,despite widespread criticism that the move risks endangering a revival of peace talks.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “will announce in the coming days the construction of several hundred additional homes’ in the occupied West Bank,his close ally,Transport Minister Yisrael Katz,told public radio.

The number of new housing units to be approved could range between 400 and 700,Israeli media reported.

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Netanyahu did not address the issue of settlements — one of the thorniest in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict — at the start of today’s weekly cabinet meeting.

But on Friday,a senior official said Netanyahu would approve a burst of settlement building in the West Bank before considering a moratorium sought by the United States.

That announcement,coming just days ahead of another visit to the region by US Middle East envoy George Mitchell,has been widely criticised by Israel’s main ally Washington,the Europeans and the Palestinians.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas blasted the plans as “not acceptable,” while top negotiator Saeb Erakat said they “undermine all efforts exerted by the (US President Barack) Obama administration to revive peace.”

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Abbas said that if Israel went ahead with the plan,there would be no point in holding a three-way meeting between him,Netanyahu and Obama on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly later this month.

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