Reply #2: Jerusalem Construction Clouds Peace Talks [View All]

[notfullofit]

"There is no contradiction whatsoever between this building and moving forward on the peace process," Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev said. "Israel never committed itself to a freeze in Jerusalem. On the contrary, we always said that a construction freeze in Jerusalem was unrealistic and impossible. Jerusalem has a dynamic population with growing needs."

Regev said there was an "international consensus" that in any final status arrangement, the Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem would remain part of Israel, and building in those neighborhoods in no way undermined the peace process.

Saying that he doubted the issue would take up much time in the Olmert-Abbas talks, Regev said, "There is no doubt that the Palestinians understand this issue more than their public pronouncements would lead one to believe."

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