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Last update - 15:22 18/08/2009
Officials: Netanyahu froze new West Bank projects
By Reuters
Tags: Israel news 

Israel has quietly stopped approving new building projects in the West Bank while publicly still refusing U.S. demands for an official settlement freeze, government officials said Tuesday.

The decision to temporarily shelve new construction was made jointly by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Housing Minister Ariel Atias, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no formal measure has been announced.

Netanyahu has refrained from initiating the new housing projects hoping to reach common ground with Washington, Atias told Israel Radio.
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"Since the government was established five months ago, no tenders have been issued for Judea and Samaria," Atias said, referring to government invitations for bids for new construction in West Bank settlements.

"The fact is, we are in a holding pattern ... an attempt, I believe, to reach an understanding with the U.S. administration and a comprehensive peace agreement," Atias said.

Kobi Bleich, a spokesman for Atias - the official directly responsible for signing off on government construction - would not confirm or deny the report.

Mark Regev, a spokesman for Netanyahu, had no immediate comment.

The Israeli anti-settlement organization Peace Now confirmed no new tenders had been issued but said more than 1,000 housing units were currently under construction in the West Bank on land Palestinians want for a state.

U.S. President Barack Obama's administration has been prodding Israel to shelve all settlement construction on land Palestinians want for a future state, a demand Israel has said it cannot accept. The issue has grown into a rare public disagreement between the two close allies.

However, the government officials said Tuesday that Israel has decided to temporarily stop green-lighting new projects because of the international pressure.

The move falls short of the U.S. demand because it doesn't amount to a full freeze - projects approved in the past are still being built, and groups tracking settlements say the pace of construction in the settlements has not slowed.

Still, it could be an indication Israel is seeking a compromise with
Washington over the issue.

Netanyahu has resisted a total suspension of settlement expansion and is due to meet Obama's Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, in London next week in a bid to end the most serious rift in U.S.-Israeli relations in a decade.

Playing down the significance of the freeze in initiating fresh projects, Peace Now said Israeli government-sponsored building accounted for only about 40 percent of the Israeli constuction in the West Bank.

"Most of the building is through private initiatives from settler groups and non-governmental organisations," Peace Now said in a statement.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has made a resumption of peace talks with Israel, suspended since December, conditional on a complete settlement freeze.

But Israel hopes to persuade the United States to accept a continuation of existing building projects to meet the needs of the growing population in settlements the Israeli government hopes to keep in any future peace deal with the Palestinians.

Washington has been trying to persuade Arab states to take initial steps towards normalising relations with Israel as part of a settlement deal. On Tuesday in Washington, Obama was to meet Hosni Mubarak, president of the biggest Arab state, Egypt.

Diplomats said Arab countries were resisting U.S. pressure, demanding Isrel first completely freeze settlement activity.

Some 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem, territory Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War. The West Bank is home to 2.5 million Palestinians.

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      1.   The impression remains that all make-believe cessation... 14:48  |  Esther 18/08/09
      2.   A defacto Freeze 14:55  |  WHG 18/08/09
      3.   We WILL Resume Building Here In OUR Land 15:10  |  Yishai Kohen 18/08/09
      4.   Freeze will thaw as soon as Iran threat is gone 15:28  |  Mark Leaman 18/08/09
      5.   WOW 15:33  |  Walid 18/08/09
      6.   Obama regards ?settlements? as a critical obstacle to peace?. 15:33  |  B. Gold 18/08/09
      7.   yishai kohen 3 15:57  |  potobac 18/08/09
      8.   Walid 16:25  |  dan 18/08/09
      9.   Mark Leaman; it`s about shortcuts 16:32  |  Walid 18/08/09
      10.   I think the problem is that... 16:54  |  Steve 18/08/09
      11.   Clearly a `moratorium` is coming rather than a commitment to ceas 17:07  |  Ari 18/08/09
      12.   UK adopts Sharia Muslim Laws. USA soon to follow. Bibi 17:45  |  James a Gentile 18/08/09
      13.   Dan 18:22  |  Walid 18/08/09
      14.   US negotiators have been had over and over again 18:25  |  Fed up 18/08/09
      15.   This is a disaster if this is true. 18:55  |  Jewish State 18/08/09
      16.   Bad Idea if true 19:28  |  Chaim Ben Kahan 18/08/09
      17.   Settlement Freeze 19:40  |  gdg 18/08/09
      18.   Ari-Just Like Terrorist Cease Fire 19:44  |  Jane 18/08/09
      19.   "Netanyahu froze new West Bank projects..." 22:12  |  Esther 18/08/09
      20.   settlement freeze 22:15  |  marvyn 18/08/09
      21.   `Freezing` is an oxymoron... has anyone seen what it looks like? 22:20  |  Esther 18/08/09
      22.   OBAMA IS IN TROUBLE AT HOME SO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT BIBI 22:38  |  zionist forever 18/08/09
      23.   Where this article becomes unbelievable 00:54  |  Johnboy 19/08/09
      24.   Fatah conference declares war on Israel 01:27  |  Realist 19/08/09
      25.   "Netanyahu froze new West Bank projects " 01:57  |  Jim 19/08/09
      26.   #4 Mark Leaman 02:47  |  Jim 19/08/09
      27.   Gotta love that chutzpah! 03:33  |  Johnboy 19/08/09
      28.   No Right to Complain 04:09  |  Daniel 19/08/09
      29.   #6 B. Gold - not applicable 06:42  |  Rod 19/08/09
      30.   Bibi froze WB projects. 09:52  |  Suzy 19/08/09
      31.   #28 Hasbarah History from Daniel 14:22  |  Johnboy 19/08/09
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