Israel says it won't change its settlement policy despite new demandsby the President of the United States. The settlers have announcedtheir own response to U.S. pressure.
Israel says it will not haltconstruction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, despite PresidentBarack Obama's insistence on a settlement freeze. Mr. Obama mostrecently made the demand Thursday in his Cairo speech to the Muslimworld.
The issue has raised tensions between the new, right-winggovernment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the U.S.administration, which sees the settlements as an obstacle to peace.
Governmentspokesman Zalman Shoval, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington,says Israel reserves the right to build in existing settlements toaccommodate "natural growth."
"No democratic government can beexpected to stop people, hundreds of thousands of people, livinglegally and under the law, wherever they live, of having children orputting up additional buildings. Look, this is not a dispute; this is afact of life," he said.
As a concession to Washington, Israelhas begun dismantling some small, illegal settlement outposts as partof its commitment under the "roadmap" peace plan, but with littlesuccess. On Friday, settlers returned to the outpost of Oz Yonatan nearthe Palestinian-ruled city of Ramallah, after it was dismantled by thearmy earlier this week.
"Ourmessage is very clear: Obama, no you can't. You can't give away the landof the Bible that belongs to the people of the Bible," said settlement activist Nadia Matar.
Palestinianofficials say Mr. Obama's call for a settlement freeze is a good start.But they say the test will be converting words to deeds.