Israel has relayed to the U.S. details of a new directive that requires all future construction in the Palestinian West Bank to receive the approval of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Israeli daily the Jerusalem Post reported Sunday.
The daily said Israel's move is designed to prevent possible criticism over Israeli settlement activity during next week's visit to the region by U.S. President George W. Bush.
The daily quoted Israeli officials as saying that Israel is fully committed to its roadmap obligations, which request Israel to restrict West Bank construction. And the new directive was an attempt to ensure that government officials were in a position to implement these commitments, said the report.
However, officials were quoted as saying that, although Olmert must now give the green light to any new construction in the West Bank, construction at the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Homa and Israeli settlement Ma'aleh Adumim will proceed as planned.
Israel's recent tenders for the construction of some 300 new homes in Har Homa and some 200 new units in Ma'aleh Adumim have prompted severe international criticism of Israel and soured the atmosphere at the first two sessions of final status talks with the Palestinians which followed last month's Annapolis peace conference.
After Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met last week, Israel pledged to the Palestinians that there would be no construction of new settlements, no expansion of existing settlements, no expropriation of private Palestinian land and no financial incentives for Israelis to live in the West Bank.
The daily also said Israeli officials hoped that the new policy will help improve the atmosphere at this week's round of final status talks, when negotiating teams led by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei meet again.
Source; Xinhua
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