Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has expressed "regret" to US Vice President Joe
Biden over the decision to announce plans for 1,600 new east
Jerusalem settler homes during his visit, the premier`s office
said on Thursday.
"The (prime minister) spoke to Vice President Biden and
expressed his regret for the unfortunate timing," his office
said in a statement.
Netanyahu said that "in light of the ongoing disagreement
between Israel and the US on building in Jerusalem," there had
been no need to advance the planning process this week.
The announcement on Tuesday sparked an international
furore and enraged the Palestinians, who have called off
US-backed plans for indirect talks with Israel until the
decision to build the houses is cancelled.
Netanyahu indicated he was unaware of the announcement by
the interior ministry, and his office said he had summoned
Interior Minister Eli Yishai yesterday to express his
"displeasure" at the timing of the announcement.
He also told Biden that the "final approval process will
in all likelihood take more than a year and the beginning of
actual construction would likely take several years,"
according to the statement.
Biden had condemned the move during a visit to the West
Bank yesterday when he met Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas
and other senior leaders.
As head of the rightwing Likud party Netanyahu is in
favour of expanding Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem,
which Israel captured in the 1967 Six Day War and annexed in a
move not recognised by the international community.
PTI
