ISRAEL HAS RE-COMMENCED building on settlements in the West Bank after a 10-month long construction freeze expired last night.
Haaretz reports that 600 of 2,000 new homes planned for settlers are expected to be completed in coming months.
The site also says that the number of units built by Israel in the West Bank is smaller under Benyamin Netanyahu than any previous Israeli prime minister.
The Jerusalem Post reports that a new neighbourhood is being built at West Bank settlement Ariel for families evacuated during Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had threatened to abandon peace talks if building recommenced, but Netanyahu appealed to him to remain at the table:
I call on President Abbas to continue the frank and fruitful dialogue that has only just begun, with the goal of reaching an historic peace agreement between our nations.
International leaders have called on Israel to extend the building ban over fears the terse peace talks could collapse. British Foreign Secretary William Hague and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Middle East leaders to continue to support the talks, according to Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post.
Al Jazeera reports that around 2,000 people held a rally in the northern West Bank to celebrate the end of the settlement freeze.
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