Israel approves construction of 366 West Bank apartments, plans 84 more

September 17th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Israel will not completely freeze all construction in its West Bank settlements, as the United States and the Palestinians have demanded, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday. "A freeze for me means zero construction.

September 16th, 2009 US envoy to press Israel yet again on settlementsJERUSALEM — Washington's special envoy to the Mideast on Wednesday wrapped up his second meeting this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without reaching an agreement on curtailing Israeli settlement construction. U.S. official George Mitchell will sit down with Netanyahu for a third time on Friday, Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

September 15th, 2009 US envoy pressing for settlement curtailmentJERUSALEM — Washington's special envoy to the Mideast will press Israel on Wednesday for further concessions on settlement construction, having failed a day earlier to reach an accommodation palatable to the U.S. and the Palestinians.

September 15th, 2009 US envoy pushes Israel for settlement compromiseJERUSALEM — Washington's special Mideast envoy pressed Israel to curtail West Bank settlement construction but announced no breakthroughs after talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Tuesday. After an evening meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Mitchell said the U.S.

September 15th, 2009 Mitchell to meet with Netanyahu, AbbasJERUSALEM — The Obama administration's special Mideast envoy will be huddling with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders, hoping to wring an agreement on Jewish West Bank settlements that would get moribund peace talks back on track. George Mitchell's first meeting on Tuesday will be with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

September 14th, 2009 Netanyahu: There will be no construction freezeJERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuffed U.S. demands for a total West Bank settlement freeze on Monday, digging in his heels before a crucial meeting with Washington's special Mideast envoy.

September 9th, 2009 Israel moves on plans to build in east JerusalemJERUSALEM — Israel is pushing ahead with a long-delayed plan to build hundreds of apartments in east Jerusalem, staking claims to land the Palestinians want for a future state and complicating already tense relations with the U.S. over its demand for a construction moratorium.

September 8th, 2009 Israel moves on plans to build in east JerusalemJERUSALEM — Israel is pushing ahead a long-delayed plan to build hundreds of apartments in disputed east Jerusalem, staking claims to land the Palestinians claim for a future state and complicating already tense relations with the U.S., which has demanded a construction freeze. The government has chosen developers to build 486 new apartments in the Jewish Pisgat Zeev neighborhood after a long delay over pricing disputes, according to an announcement it released Tuesday.

September 7th, 2009 Israel OKs hundreds of new West Bank apartmentsJERUSALEM — Israel officially approved the construction of hundreds of new homes in the West Bank, the Defense Ministry said Monday, deepening an already unprecedented rift with the U.S. over Israeli settlement expansion.

September 6th, 2009 Israeli Cabinet backs new West Bank constructionJERUSALEM — Israeli Cabinet ministers lined up on Sunday behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to approve the construction of hundreds of new apartments in West Bank settlements, defiantly shrugging off a rare and harsh public rebuke from top ally Washington. Israeli officials announced the new construction on Friday, while suggesting they might halt some building in the West Bank in exchange for overtures from the Arab world.

September 6th, 2009 Israel approving new West Bank constructionJERUSALEM — Israel defied U.S. pressure to halt construction in its West Bank settlements Sunday, with key leaders speaking out in support of the contentious enclaves and preparing to sign orders to allow building of hundreds of new housing units there.

September 3rd, 2009 Aide: Netanyahu considering settlement freezeJERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be willing to consider suspending construction in the West Bank for several months — but first plans to authorize hundreds of new apartments there, an aide said Friday. The U.S. has been pressing Israel to agree to a settlement freeze, and the Palestinians have said they would not resume peace talks unless Israel suspends construction on lands they want for a future state.

September 3rd, 2009 Building of new West Bank housing dropsJERUSALEM — Israeli government statistics show that construction of new homes in the Israel's West Bank settlements fell by one-third in the first half of 2009 from a year earlier. The numbers bolster settlers' claims that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has partially frozen settlement construction under U.S.

August 23rd, 2009 Report: No sign of West Bank settlement slowdownJERUSALEM — There is no sign of a slowdown in the construction of homes for Jewish settlers in the West Bank despite Israel's announcement that it has stopped approving new building, the Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said in a report issued Sunday. Under U.S. pressure to freeze settlements, Israel indicated last week it had stopped green-lighting new construction projects, part of an attempt to bridge the gap between the two allies.

April 27th, 2009 Abbas won't be pressured into talks with IsraelRAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinians won't be pressured into resuming peace talks with Israel as long as construction in Jewish settlements continues, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday. Abbas said a complete construction freeze is a prerequisite for resuming talks.