Israel’s housing ministry said 800 new houses will be built in the West Bank and 600 in east Jerusalem.
JERUSALEM—Israel on Friday announced plans to build 1,400 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territory the Palestinians claim for their future state.
Even though it was no surprise, the announcement is likely to anger the Palestinians and could cast a shadow on the U.S.-led peace efforts.
Israel’s housing ministry said 800 new houses will be built in the West Bank and 600 in east Jerusalem.
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The statement had been expected after Israel released 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners in late December, part of a deal made last summer when Israeli-Palestinian peace talks resumed. It was the third of four pledged prisoner releases.
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rdeneh, condemned the announcement, saying it undermines the “American efforts aimed at creating a peace track toward a two state solution.”
The announcement was initially expected earlier in January, but was postponed, apparently to avoid any coinciding with last week’s visit by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who came in a fresh push to advance the negotiations. While Israel is not obligated to halt construction under the peace talks, Kerry has urged restraint and said the building raises questions about Israel’s commitment to peace.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously issued similar construction announcements to blunt hardline criticism at home of prisoner releases as many of those released were convicted of killing Israeli civilians and soldiers.
The new homes are planned in Ramat Shlomo, an enclave in east Jerusalem, and in various West Bank settlements.
The Palestinians demand those areas, captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war, for their state. They had long refused to negotiate with Israel while settlement construction continued.
Since the peace talks resumed last summer, Israel has issued 5,500 tenders for new housing in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, said Yariv Oppenheimer of the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now.
It was a significant increase, compared to the annual average of between 2,000 and 3,000 in previous years.
The fate of the territory is a main focus in peace talks and a very sensitive issue for both sides.
Netanyahu faces tough opposition to relinquishing territory from critics within his government — many of whom cite its religious and historic significance for devout Jews, consider it the biblical Jewish heartland and heritage or are concerned over security issues.
Under U.S. pressure, the Palestinians agreed to resume talks last summer. The tradeoff seems to have been Israel’s acquiescence to release long-held Palestinian prisoners.
The release of the Palestinians, many jailed for grisly murders, is widely resented by Israelis who view the prisoners as terrorists.
“Releasing the prisoners was an immoral step that shouldn’t have happened,” said Isaac Herzog, chief of the opposition Labor Party. “The housing ministry’s announcement at the time of negotiations damages negotiations.”
Herzog said Netanyahu should have halted settlement construction rather than release the prisoners, and blamed hard-liners in the prime minister’s coalition for the move.
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