Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously said that he will increase settlements in the West Bank and ensure that no Palestinian state is created [Xinhua]
The Jerusalem District Zoning Committee, which was due to convene today reportedly to approve the construction of thousands of new homes in Eastern Jerusalem in spite of a resolution passed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on December 23 condemning the settlements, has abruptly backed away and cancelled new settlements licensing.
According to a report from Reuters, the Committee’s Hanan Rubin said that the approval for the construction of nearly 500 homes in East Jerusalem was scrapped on the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself.
The Jerusalem Post newspaper said the decision to put the approvals on hold was taken to ease tension with the Obama administration.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu ordered Israel’s foreign ministry to temporarily limit ‘working ties’ with the embassies of the 12 of the 14 countries who voted in favor of Friday’s resolution.
Foreign ministry officials cited by CNN have said that Netanyahu will not meet with the FMs of those countries, nor will their ambassadors be received at Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
UNSC Resolution 2334, which passed with 14 votes in favor and an abstention by the United States, said Israel’s illegal settlements undermined the two-state solution for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, hopeful after the passage of the resolution, said on Tuesday that he hopes the Middle East Peace Conference in France next month will set a timetable for ending the settlements.
“The decision lays the foundation for any future serious negotiation … and it paves the way for the international peace conference slated to be held in Paris next month and we hope this conference comes up with a mechanism and timetable to end the occupation,” Abbas said at a meeting with his Fatah party.
Netanyahu is vehemently opposed to this mediation, saying it would undermine the negotiating process.
Earlier, deputy Jerusalem Mayor Meir Turgeman told local paper Israel Hayom:
“We remain unfazed by the UN vote, or by any other entity that tries to dictate what we do in Jerusalem.”
US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to make a critical speech about the Middle East peace process between the Israelis and Palestinians later today.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
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