US 'dismayed' by Israeli building plans in Jerusalem (Roundup)

Nov 17, 2009, 19:46 GMT

Palestinian construction workers at a large apartment building complex being built in the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo, which many consider a huge Jewish settlement, on 18 November 2009. Israel has announced plans approved by Jerusalem to expand Gilo with some 900 additional housing units, setting of waves criticism from the international community and the Palestinian Authority. EPA/JIM HOLLANDER

Washington - The United States strongly objected to Israeli plans Tuesday to expand a key neighbourhood in an occupied area of East Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinians, warning the decision will harm peace negotiations.

In defiance of the United States, Jerusalem officials announced 900 new homes would be built in Gilo, which lies in territory seized by the Israelis in the 1967 war and later annexed. The international community does not recognize Gilo or East Jerusalem as part of Israel.

'We are dismayed at the Jerusalem Planning Committee's decision to move forward on the approval process for the expansion of Gilo in Jerusalem,' White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement. 'At a time when we are working to re-launch negotiations, these actions make it more difficult for our efforts to succeed.'

Tuesday's development is the latest in a series of strains in the US-Israeli relationship over settlements and construction on disputed territories that Washington believes must be resolved in negotiations with the Palestinians.

'Our position is clear: The status of Jerusalem is a permanent status issue that must be resolved through negotiations between the parties,' Gibbs said.

President Barack Obama has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to freeze all settlement activity pending the outcome of negotiations with the Palestinians. Netanyahu has rejected the plea, only agreeing to halt the construction of new settlements - not the expansion of existing ones he calls 'natural growth.'

The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot reported Tuesday that the special US envoy, George Mitchell, lobbied a Netanyahu aide to intervene and block the Gilo expansion.

The Palestinians have demanded that Israel halt settlement activity as a condition for resuming negotiations.

The Israeli government regards Gilo as its own territory and not as a settlement on Palestinian lands. Building there requires no special permission, Yitzhak Molkho, a spokesman for Netanyahu's government, said.