West Bank plans seen as snub to US efforts

JERUSALEM - On the eve of talks with the White House over halting its ongoing takeover of the occupied West Bank, Israel's Defence Ministry yesterday confirmed plans for a massive expansion of a settlement near Ramallah.

The news will be seen as a major setback to United States efforts to stop the growth of illegal settlements, and as a calculated snub to the Obama Administration by Benjamin Netanyahu's Government.

It came as the Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, flew to Washington in an attempt to reach a compromise with the American special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell.

The US says the building must stop to enable a viable Palestinian state to emerge alongside Israel through negotiations.

The planned expansion to the north-east of Jerusalem was acknowledged in an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court by Barak. The document outlines plans by the Government to relocate about 50 hardline settler families from the unauthorised outpost of Migron to the Adam settlement, 3km away.

The document says a plan has been drawn up calling for the construction of 1450 new units at Adam, a huge number in West Bank terms, although it is expected to take several years to work its way through the approvals process. The ministry said it had given the green light only for the 50 dwellings and any additional units would require its separate approval.

The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, said in Ramallah yesterday that the Palestinian Authority would stick to its refusal to resume talks unless there was a construction freeze. His leading negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said: "The Israelis are determined to undermine the two-state solution."

- INDEPENDENT