Israel approves new settlement building

       Israel approved yesterday the building of 450 settler homes in the occupied West Bank, a move opposed by its US ally and Palestinians but which could pave the way for a construction moratorium sought by Washington.
       A Defence Ministry list of the first such building permits since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office in March showed the homes would be erected in areas Israel has said it intends to keep in a future peace deal with the Palestinians.
       Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said Israel's decision further undermined any belief that it is a credible partner for peace.
       Israeli officials announced on Friday that Mr Netanyahu intended to give the go-ahead for the new projects in the occupied West Bank, drawing swift condemnation from the White House.
       The permits, signed by Defence Minister Ehud Barak, were widely seen in Israel as an attempt by Mr Netanyahu to mollify pro-settler members of his government and Likud Party before agreeing to a freeze of construction starts in the settlements.
       "This is a huge smokescreen," said Pinhas Wallerstein, a settler leader,suggesting the step was only a token gesture meant to mask a real intention to bend to US pressure to curb settlement expansion.
       US President Barack Obama has pushed Mr Netanyahu over a settlement freeze in order to open the way for a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks suspended since December.
       Mr Netanyahu has resisted a complete moratorium, saying "natural growth" of settler families must be accommodated. Some 2,500 housing units are under construction in settlements and Israeli officials said those projects would continue.
       Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has demanded a settlement freeze as a condition for returning to peace negotiations.
       In a statement, Mr Abbas' top negotiator Mr Erekat said:"Israel's decision to approve the construction of over 450 new settlement units nullifies any effect that a settlement freeze, when and if announced, will have."
       Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni of the centrist Kadima Party scoffed at what she described as an attempt by Mr Netanyahu to "throw a bone" to settlers before agreeing to a construction moratorium."There's nothing real happening here save for Netanyahu's [political] survival," Ms Livni, a former foreign minister, told reporters, comparing approval of new housing projects before a construction freeze to "building an igloo in the summer".
       It was not immediately clear when ground would be broken for the new homes. Yariv Oppenheimer of the antisettlement movement Peace Now said that in the past it usually took up to a year before building began after permits were issued.
       The Defence Ministry outlined the following construction plans:149 homes in the settlement of Har Gilo, 12 in Alon Shvut, 84 in Modiin Ilit, 76 in Pisgat Zeev,25 in Kedar,20 in Maskiot and 89 in Maale Adumim.
       Most of those settlements are near Jerusalem. The others are in the Jordan Valley to the east or close to central Israel. Palestinians say the settlements,deemed illegal by the World Court, could deny them a viable state.