Israel Confirms Endorsement of New Settlement Building Tenders

Israeli Housing and Construction Minister Natan Sharansky confirmed Tuesday that his office has endorsed two settlement building tenders prepared by the previous government of Ehud Barak for about 700 housing units in the West Bank.

In an interview with Israel Radio, Sharansky said that 496 housing units are planned for the settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem, and another 217 at Alfei Menashe, close to the 1967 Green Line Border near the Israeli town of Kfar Sava.

The minister claimed that there was no reason to get into a discussion about the construction of these settlements when it was still unclear whether Israel had a partner on the Palestinian side.

He said that it was clear to everyone, including U.S. President George W. Bush, that the issue of settlements was not the reason for the continuing violence.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who has been working on a settlement formula that will be acceptable to both Israeli Prime Minster Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, said Tuesday morning that Israel would not build new settlements and would not expropriate land in the occupied Palestinian territories for the settlement construction, but the daily needs of the settlers would be met.

"We will not use the definition of 'day-to-day' needs to expand the settlements," he said.

Israel's policy of building settlements on the occupied Palestinian territories, which is illegal under international laws, has been widely criticized.

The Palestinians have set Israel's freeze of its settlement activity as one of the conditions for a cessation of violence.

Sharon's government says it will not build new settlements, nor will it seize more land, but will continue to meet the ongoing need of the "natural growth" of the existing settlements.

Under the definition of "natural growth," the settlements were expanded considerably under former governments led by Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak.

The international inquiry committee led by former US senator George Mitchell to investigate the causes of the eight months of Israeli-Palestinian violence has also called on Israel to freeze its settlement construction to pave the way for a ceasefire.

Israel has rejected any link between its settlement activity and the Palestinian violence, saying that the settlement issue can only be discussed at a later stage.






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