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Source: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259243016057&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Israel Begins Ten-Month Settlement Freeze
(Jerusalem Post) Tovah Lazaroff and Herb Keinon - Following the security cabinet announcement of a 10-month moratorium on housing starts in the settlements, Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday suspended all permits for building projects where contractors have not yet broken ground. Barak also announced the approval of plans to build 28 public buildings, most of them educational facilities needed for the coming school year. Prime Minister Netanyahu had indicated in announcing the moratorium Wednesday that construction of public buildings, as well as construction in eastern Jerusalem, would continue. Discussing the freeze, Barak said: "We are talking about a unilateral step, at the government's initiative, which has been coordinated with the United States, with the intention of advancing the diplomatic process with the Palestinians." Minister Yossi Peled said that if the process remains deadlocked, "we will return to regular building."