JERUSALEM: Israel announced on Wednesday a plan to limit settlement construction for 10 months in a bid to revive peace negotiations with the Palestinians who said the partial moratorium did not meet their terms for talks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal excludes areas of the West Bank that Israel annexed to its Jerusalem municipality after capturing the territory in a 1967 war and building projects already under way, government officials said.
“Any return to negotiations must be on the basis of a complete settlement freeze, and in Jerusalem foremost,” said Nabil Abu Rudaineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
A statement issued by Netanyahu’s office said the “temporary suspension,” was part of an effort “to restart peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.”
Netanyahu’s inner security Cabinet later approved the 10-month moratorium.
Netanyahu has rejected a complete halt to construction in settlements, saying the “natural growth” of settler families must be accommodated.
He had proposed limiting Israeli construction temporarily in the West Bank to the 3,000 homes either under construction or whose building has been approved. Israeli officials had said a partial moratorium could last for nine months to a year. By announcing a formal plan, Netanyahu could hope to win explicit US backing and increased pressure from Washington on the Palestinians to return to peace talks without preconditions.
“It enables us to present the world with a simple truth: The Israeli government wants to enter into negotiations and it is very serious about its intention to advance peace,” Netanyahu said, according to a message sent to reporters by his office.
In Washington, a US official told AFP that “we’re hopeful this will lead to a resumption” of the peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians that were suspended during the Gaza war at the turn of the year.
