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Shas claims credit for construction in J'lem, W. Bank By Yair Ettinger, Barak Ravid, Meron Rapoport, Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies Tags: Jerusalem, West Bank, Israel  Coalition member Shas yesterday hailed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision to allow the resumption of construction in the West Bank's Givat Ze'ev as a victory of its efforts. But it also drew the ire of the United States and the international community. At the ultra-Orthodox party, the decision to allow construction of 750 housing units in the neighborhood was described as a triumph. "This is a Shas success, everything has been enabled,? a source in the party said. "The first stage is Givat Ze'ev, and in the next stages the Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] cities of Beitar Ilit and Modi'in Ilit will also be released [for construction]." Advertisement Olmert agreed to thaw out a number of the frozen construction permits after Shas threatened last week to abstain from the no-confidence vote against the government. The vote was held in the Knesset yesterday. Two weeks ago Shas leaders Eli Yishai and Ariel Atias warned that the party would not support the government in the no-confidence vote unless the construction was authorized. The decision to approve construction in the neighborhood - stopped several years ago due to the security situation - drew American criticism yesterday. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice raised the issue during a meeting in Washington with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Rice also spoke with Defense Minister Ehud Barak on the issue. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the European Union and the British government also voiced opposition to the decision. All noted that stopping construction in the settlements is one of Israel?s commitments as part of the road map. The U.S. administration is consistently opposed to any construction in East Jerusalem and believes that this may endanger the chances for reaching a final-status agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. American officials said the Bush administration "frowns upon this announcement," adding that the matter is expected to come up during a meeting of the tripartite security committee. The committee, comprising representatives of the U.S., Israel and PA, monitors the implementation of the two sides' commitments to the road map, and will meet for the first time on Thursday. The meeting will include Barak, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and U.S. general William Fraser. The retired general was appointed by Rice to monitor Palestinian counterterrorism activities, Israeli evacuation of the illegal outposts and an end to construction in the settlements. The UN secretary general called on Israel to stop the construction in Givat Ze'ev and fulfill its obligations in the road map. "Any settlement expansion is contrary to Israel's obligations under the road map and to international law," Ban said in a statement. Ban urged Israel to halt the expansion of the Givat Ze'ev settlement in the West Bank and restate its obligations to the road map. The European Union condemned Israel's construction plans, saying last week's attack on a Jewish seminary by a Palestinian gunman did not justify such a move. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said after a meeting of the bloc's 27 foreign ministers: "The latest statement by the Israeli government as far as settlements is concerned, we'd like to say we deplored that statement." "We think that the reaction to what happened on the ground is not justified," he told a news conference, recalling that a halt to settlement activity was enshrined in the first phase of the road map. Israel said Sunday that plans to build a total of 750 homes in Givat Ze'ev were being revived. The new building was announced three days after a Palestinian gunman killed eight students at a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem associated with the settler movement. Britain asked Israel for clarifications on the matter of the construction and the Foreign Office issued a statement describing this development as not being conducive to the implementation of the first stage of the road map. Two weeks ago, the Housing Ministry announced that it authorized the construction of 400 housing units in the neighborhood of Neveh Yaakov in East Jerusalem, and is considering the construction of 250 more housing units there. Meanwhile, it was announced yesterday that Vice President Dick Cheney would be visiting Israel next week. President George W. Bush said yesterday that Cheney would be visiting Oman, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, in addition to Israel and the PA, where he is expected to push the two sides for progress within the Annapolis framework. During her visit to Washington, Livni met with former senior administration officials as well as Mideast advisers to the presidential candidates. "We will not allow Hamas to choose when to attack and when to pause in order to rebuild its force," she said. "The problem of smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip must be dealt with and we must not ignore it. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Bring down the house Knesset speaker calls for wrecking of yeshiva killer's family home. Frum and fabulous Beauty salons offer Haredi women a unique brand of modest glamour.

Today Online Britain bans Likud's Moshe Feiglin from entering country Responses: 317 Editorial: Sign peace deal quickly with PA Responses: 132 Rocket on Ashkelon ends four-day lull in violence Responses: 136 N.Y. Governor in sex scandal; pimp said to hold Israel passport Responses: 143 PA official: West Bank construction threatens peace process Responses: 148 More Headlines 21:40 Egypt FM: Cairo can forge truce between Israel and Gaza militants 01:52 Qureia to Livni: 'Shocked' at Israeli plan to expand settlement 01:08 Police officers slam district chief's ignorance about yeshiva attack 22:08 Shas urges PM to continue aliyah of Ethiopian Falashmura 22:00 Shas chair demands that PM unfreeze E. J'lem construction plan 22:53 Livni to Obama: There is a direct link between Iran and terror 23:58 Pro-Palestinian graffiti found inside El Al plane in Italy 22:50 Report: Yeshiva graduates plan revenge attack against Arab figure 22:19 Israeli leftist Fahima consoles family of J'lem yeshiva terrorist 23:37 U.S. immigrant builds bridges with the 'Facebook of peace' 17:47 Justice Min. says he'll freeze bill to restrict Supreme Court power 20:08 Belgian gov't, banks to pay 110M euros to victims of Holocaust 20:23 Police: Organized crime groups traffic Palestinians into Israel Previous Editions Select Day 11 mar 10 mar 09 mar 07 mar 06 mar 05 mar 04 mar 03 mar 02 mar 29 feb 28 feb 27 feb

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