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Bibi pokes Barry in the eye, approves 100s of new houses in West Bank before freeze
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon approve the construction of hundreds of new housing units in West Bank settlements before he declares a moratorium on building in those locales, according to a senior government source. The source from the prime minister's bureau said last night that Netanyahu informed U.S. officials of his decision to authorize the construction a few weeks ago.The immediate future of construction in West Bank settlements will be determined in talks between Israeli officials and the Middle East envoy of U.S. President Barack Obama, George Mitchell, who will visit Israel next week. The issue could be decided in Mitchell's two-day visit, which will begin on Thursday, according to the source. The hundreds of units whose construction Netanyahu is expected to approve will join some 2,500 housing units currently being built, whose construction will not be halted. Officials from the prime minister's bureau said Netanyahu "will agree to consider a temporary freeze on construction in the West Bank for a few months after he approves the additional building permits. The precise length of the moratorium is still subject to debate, and the U.S. and Israel are negotiating on this issue. Netanyahu does not agree to a freeze exceeding a period of six months, while the Americans are insisting on a nine-month period. In addition, Netanyahu wants to exclude 2,500 housing units on which construction has already started, and the construction of schools and other public structures in the settlements. Israel is demanding that the Palestinian Authority and Arab states make their own concessions in exchange for a freeze.
Posted by: trailing wife 2009-09-04 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=278234 |