Israeli Housing and Construction Minister Zeev Boim will approve the construction of hundreds of housing units in the West Bank next week, local daily Ha'aretz reported Wednesday, citing an Israeli official.
Roi Lachmanovitch, a spokesman for the Shas party, said Boim will on Sunday approve construction in the Beitar Illit settlement near Jerusalem and other areas, adding Boim voiced commitment to the construction in a recent conversation with Shas leaders.
Shas is a member of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's ruling coalition.
Shas' announcement on Wednesday came hours before U.S. President George W. Bush is due to arrive in Israel to prod Israel and the Palestinians to negotiate a long-awaited peace deal.
Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice admitted that expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank affected confidence atmosphere between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas has long been asking Israel to carry out the first phase of the Road Map plan since it was the reference of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks which were resumed following a U.S.-sponsored peace conference in November.
The first phase requires Israel to stop the construction of settlements in the West Bank, reopen PNA institutions in Jerusalemand end all the measures Israel took after the eruption of the second Palestinian Intifada (uprising) in 2000, while demanding the Palestinians to end attacks against the Israelis.
Source:Xinhua
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