Israel limits construction of settlements during peace talks

JERUSALEM, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at private meetings that Israel will limit the construction of new housing units in settlement blocs in the West Bank to 1,000 during the six to nine months of the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Ha'aretz daily reported on Friday.

Netanyahu will announce the issuing of new tenders to construct houses in West Bank settlements as soon as Sunday, according to the report in Ha'aretz. He is also expected to announce the release of 82 Palestinian prisoners Sunday.

According to Peace Now, a watchdog group on settlements construction, about 2,000 new housing units were constructed in 2012 in West Bank settlements, and plans for additional 6,676 housing units were under process in Israel's planning committees.

The peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians are slated to restart next week in Washington, after a 3-year cessation over Israel's ongoing settlement construction in the West Bank.

The Palestinians have conditioned the resumption of the peace talks with a freeze of settlements construction, release of prisoners and negotiation based on 1967 borders.

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