Settlement construction near the Bethlehem district village of al-Walaja.
(MaanImages/Stringer)
(MaanImages/Stringer)
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- A settlement official on Friday called for accelerated construction of settler facilities in case the diplomatic wrangling over the Palestinian UN bid leads to a freeze on settlement building, Israeli media said.
The Hebrew-language daily Maariv said the president of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc near the West Bank city of Bethlehem encouraged speedy building as the UN bid goes to deliberation.
The Palestinian proposal for full UN membership is due to be submitted by President Mahmoud Abbas to the UN Secretary General on Friday.
Settlers are nervous that the diplomatic pressure on the parties to renew negotiations and sidestep a vote on Palestinian membership of the UN will push Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to freeze construction in the Jewish-only communities.
On Friday, Abbas reiterated his position that Palestinian negotiators would not return to talks unless Israel stopped building on land Palestinians want for a future state.
The last round of US-brokered negotiations collapsed shortly after their relaunch in September 2010, when Netanyahu declined to renew a 10-month partial settlement freeze.
The Hebrew-language daily Maariv said the president of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc near the West Bank city of Bethlehem encouraged speedy building as the UN bid goes to deliberation.
The Palestinian proposal for full UN membership is due to be submitted by President Mahmoud Abbas to the UN Secretary General on Friday.
Settlers are nervous that the diplomatic pressure on the parties to renew negotiations and sidestep a vote on Palestinian membership of the UN will push Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to freeze construction in the Jewish-only communities.
On Friday, Abbas reiterated his position that Palestinian negotiators would not return to talks unless Israel stopped building on land Palestinians want for a future state.
The last round of US-brokered negotiations collapsed shortly after their relaunch in September 2010, when Netanyahu declined to renew a 10-month partial settlement freeze.
Maan News Agency
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