JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has approved the construction of hundreds of new housing units at a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, the housing ministry said on Sunday. ‘After a series of consultations with the prime minister, Housing Minister Zeev Boim has approved the relaunching of construction in Givat Zeev,’ the ministry said in a statement.The move was swiftly denounced as hampering efforts to advance faltering peace talks that Israelis and Palestinians revived to much fanfare under US stewardship in late November, but that have been stagnant since.
‘We condemn in the harshest terms this decision,’ senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP. ‘We consider that with this decision, Israel wants to demolish the peace process and demolish the international efforts to advance the peace process,’ he said. ‘We ask the American administration to... pressure Israel to reverse this decision.’
| He's not happy. Wotta surprise. Our noble Paleo brethren are outfoxed again ... |
Olmert has pledged to not construct any new settlements and to dismantle unauthorised outposts, but has repeatedly emphasised that Israel did not intend to halt expansion of settlements in east Jerusalem or those blocs in the West Bank that it intends to keep under any peace deal.
The expansion project discussed by Boim and Olmert foresees the eventual building of 750 new housing units in Givat Zeev, but SundayÂ’s decision gives the green light for the immediate construction of some 200 new units, Israeli media said. Givat Zeev is located north of Jerusalem and south of the West Bank political capital of Ramallah. Founded in 1981, it currently has 11,000 mostly secular residents.
A senior Israeli official on Sunday confirmed to AFP last week’s reports that Defence Minister Ehud Barak has struck a deal with settler groups to dismantle up to 26 wildcat outposts in the West Bank in return for expanding main settlement blocs, including Givat Zeev. ‘Barak authorised construction in settlement blocs in a secret meeting two weeks ago as part of a comprehensive deal with the settlers on the evacuation of illegal outposts,’ the official said on condition of anonymity.