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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Mayor backs east J'lem building |
| 2010-04-29 |
| WASHINGTON -- Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat carried an uncompromising message on east Jerusalem with him on his visit Wednesday to the US Capitol, declaring that there was no freeze on construction and pushing back against government interference in local projects. "There's no freeze," he declared on the heels of reports that a de facto freeze had been imposed to allow peace talks with Palestinians to commence. "There's a demand from Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem to build, and we're not going to stop it. It's illegal to stop it." He acknowledged a "slowdown" following the "shock" of the US "campaign" over east Jerusalem, when the Obama administration condemned Israel for approving 1,600 housing units in Ramat Shlomo during Vice President Joe Biden's visit -- an issue that set off a crisis in US-Israel relations. |
| Posted by:Steve White |