2 min readJerusalemOct 16, 2010 03:13 AM IST
First published on: Oct 16, 2010 at 03:13 AM IST
Israel ended an unofficial construction freeze in Jewish neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem on Friday,announcing plans to build 238 housing units. The move comes as hard-won peace talks are on hold over the question of whether Israel will extend its broader construction moratorium in the West Bank.
The Housing Ministrys announcement for a new set of construction tenders across the country included units in two Jewish neighbourhoods built in areas of East Jerusalem conquered by Israel in the 1967 West Asia war. A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the plans for Ramot and Pisgat Zeev.
Saeb Erekat,chief Palestinian negotiator,said: This decision shows that the position of the Israeli Prime Minister has not changed. Instead,he continues to take every possible step to prevent the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state. By tendering in the occupied Palestinian territory,Netanyahu has once again demonstrated why there are no negotiations today.
Palestine says it cannot return to negotiations without an extension of the freeze; Netanyahu says the fate of settlement construction,which has been going on for four decades and now houses hundreds of thousands of Israelis,should be part of the mix of contentious issues that the two sides negotiate,not a condition for negotiations.
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