Israel to build 700 apartments in east Jerusalem

[unhappycamper]

Israel to build 700 apartments in east Jerusalem
By AMY TEIBEL
Associated Press Writer
Dec 28, 6:34 AM EST

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel said Monday that it plans to build nearly 700 new apartments in east Jerusalem, drawing tough criticism from both the Palestinians and the United States, which denounced it as an obstacle to peacemaking.

The dispute over east Jerusalem is the most intractable - and explosive - in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state and consider Jewish neighborhoods there to be settlements. Israel claims all of the city as its eternal capital.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a slowdown in West Bank settlement construction several weeks ago in hopes of bringing the Palestinians back to the negotiating table. But the order did not include construction in east Jerusalem, home to sensitive Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites.

"We make a distinction between the West Bank and Jerusalem. Jerusalem is our capital and remains such," said government spokesman Mark Regev.


Rest of Stripes article at: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-12-27-08-27-15