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Israel Decides To Speed Up Construction In East Jerusalem To Spite P

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  • Israel Decides To Speed Up Construction In East Jerusalem To Spite P

    ISRAEL DECIDES TO SPEED UP CONSTRUCTION IN EAST JERUSALEM TO SPITE PALESTINIANS

    PanARMENIAN.Net
    November 2, 2011 - 12:59 AMT

    PanARMENIAN.Net - Palestinian leaders reacted angrily after Israel
    said it would build 2,000 settler homes and freeze the transfer of
    Palestinian tax funds to punish them for joining UNESCO.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's inner cabinet decided on
    Tuesday, November 1, to speed up construction in east Jerusalem and
    in nearby settlements, a day after UNESCO's general assembly voted
    Palestine in as a full member.

    "These measures were agreed... as punishment after the vote at UNESCO,"
    a senior government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

    "We will build 2,000 housing units, including 1,650 homes in east
    Jerusalem and the rest in the settlements of Maaleh Adumim and Efrat,"
    he added, referring to a sprawling settlement east of Jerusalem and
    another between Bethlehem and the southern city of Hebron.

    "It was also decided to temporarily freeze the transfer of funds to
    the Palestinian Authority," he added.

    Every month, Israel transfers to the Palestinian Authority tens of
    millions of dollars in customs duties levied on goods destined for
    Palestinian markets that transit through Israeli ports. The money
    constitutes a large percentage of the Palestinian budget.

    Israel often freezes the transfer of funds as a punitive measure in
    response to diplomatic or political developments viewed as harmful.

    A statement from Netanyahu's office said the decisions were taken
    during a "first discussion" of the UNESCO issue. Further steps would
    be considered at the next meeting of the so-called Forum of Eight
    senior ministers.

    The Palestinians' presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina reacted
    angrily. He called on the Middle East Quartet and the US administration
    to "put an end to this recklessness" which he warned would have
    "negative consequences" for the whole region.

    "The Israeli decision to speed up settlement construction with the
    construction of 2,000 new housing units is an Israeli decision to
    accelerate the destruction of the peace process," he told AFP. "And
    the freezing of funds is stealing money from the Palestinian people."

    The Palestinian request for UNESCO membership was approved by the UN
    cultural organization's general assembly at a vote in Paris on Monday,
    despite strong opposition from the United States and Israel.

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