Israel signals settlements freeze lift

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on July 8, 2010.


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=134032§ionid=351020202



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled that he will not extend a 10-month freeze on illegal settlement activities in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli premier, who was addressing the influential US foreign policy think tank, the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Thursday, said that a freeze put in place in August 2009 has so far failed to spur the Palestinian Authority to enter direct peace talks, Reuters reported.

Netanyahu had earlier told a US television network that the future of the illegal settlements would be addressed in the so-called final status talks with the Palestinians.

The Israeli prime minister's remark on the potential resumption of settlement activities came on the final day of a three-day visit to Washington.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) froze direct negotiations in December 2008 when Israel launched a deadly offensive against the Gaza Strip. The PA says Israel must end the occupation of Palestinian territories before any negotiation.

Recently, Tel Aviv revealed plans to build 2700 new settlements in the West Bank immediately after the existing settlement freeze expires on September 27.

This comes despite the latest UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's criticism of Israel, in which he said that Israel has violated international law by expanding its settlements in the occupied Palestinian land, including al-Quds (Jerusalem).