Israel has no intention of freezing construction in the settlements unless the Palestinians agree to a renewal of talks according to recommendations raised by the Quartet, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said. Netanyahu made the statements in an interview with The Jerusalem Post on the eve of Rosh Hashana. On Tuesday the Jerusalem Planning and Construction Committee approved the construction of 1,100 housing units in the neighborhood of Gilo. The plan is subject to review before its implementation. "We plan in Jerusalem, we build in Jerusalem period. The same way Israeli governments have been doing for years since the end of the 1967 war," Netanyahu declared. Life in Jerusalem goes on and development is underway for its Jewish and non-Jewish residents alike, he said. Returning to the peace talks, Netanyahu noted former freezes on settlement construction imposed by Israel in the past failed to entice the Palestinians to renew talks. The Palestinians are doing everything to avoid direct negotiations, he said. Their inability to utter the words "the Jewish people or the Jewish state," cannot be ignored he said.
