Israeli official says East Jerusalem building to continue
Ma’an – 11/05/2010
Bethlehem – Israel will continue building housing units in occupied East Jerusalem and its outskirts, an Israeli cabinet official said Monday, with no timetable announced to avoid derailing proximity talks, Israeli media reported.
Speaking to Israel’s Army Radio, cabinet secretary Zevi Houser said construction in the occupied part of the city “will start soon” and that “construction in Jerusalem is going on as normal.”
Houser’s comments contradicted recent Israeli government statements that a slow-down in construction, particularly in the East Jerusalem illegal settlement of Ramat Shlomo, would be enforced in a bid to encourage Palestinian officials to remain in US-brokered proximity talks, which were derailed in March when the settlement expansion was announced.
President Mahmoud Abbas called on US to respond to reports that another settlement in occupied Jerusalem was underway, defying alleged US guarantees that all settlement construction would be halted for the duration of indirect talks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson, Nir Hefez, told the Army Radio that “a timetable for construction in East Jerusalem will be arranged in order to avoid diplomatic embarrassment,” referring to Israel’s announcement in March during US Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the region in a bid to kick start talks.
Meanwhile observers in the Jordan Valley reported dozens of trucks loaded with construction materials entering the illegal Israeli settlement of Nahal Maskyyot, followed by trucks full or workers building homes despite a government freeze on Sunday.
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