[16/March/2010]

Occupied Jerusalem, March 16 (Saba) - Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, has rejected calls from the US to halt settlement plans in occupied East Jerusalem, saying plans for building new homes would go ahead, according to Qatar News Agency (QNA).

According to Aljazeera.net, in a speech to Israel's parliament on Monday, Netanyahu said construction "will continue in Jerusalem as this has been the case for the past 42 years" in reference to the 1967 occupation of the mainly Arab territory.

He said that the plans would not hurt Palestinians, who have said peace negotiations cannot go ahead until the project is cancelled.

His comments come after Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, condemned the plans as "insulting" to peace efforts and reportedly called on Netanyahu to reverse the decision.

Israel's announcement to build 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem came during a visit to the region by Joe Biden, the US vice-president, sparking a diplomatic row between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Israeli newspaper /Haaretz/ said Clinton, in a phone call with Netanyahu on Friday, asked him to make a "substantial gesture" towards Palestinians to help restart peace talks.

She called for an official declaration that talks would deal with core issues, including borders, the status of Jerusalem, refugees, and settlements, the paper reported.

Saba