(Jerusalem Post) Tovah Lazaroff and Khaled Abu Toameh - In a series of retaliatory moves against the Palestinian Authority, Israel on Tuesday decided to accelerate Jewish construction in the Jerusalem area and temporarily suspend the transfer of tax funds to the PA. The Inner Cabinet's measures were a direct response to the PA's continued pursuit of unilateral statehood at the UN instead of a negotiated agreement with Israel. "You cannot demand from the Israeli public continued restraint when the Palestinian leadership continues to slam doors in their face," said an Israeli official. "They refuse to condemn the rocket attacks that killed an Israeli citizen [on Saturday]. They praised the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit and have refused to conduct peace negotiations while going for unilateral moves at the United Nations." The building approvals include 1,650 units in eastern Jerusalem's Jewish neighborhoods, 277 in Efrat and 50 in Ma'aleh Adumim. The Israeli official noted that all the building would occur in areas that would remain part of Israel in any final-status agreement with the Palestinians.
2011-11-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive