Israel Plans New Settlement Homes Amid Hamas Rift With U.S.

By Calev Ben-David Jun 5, 2014 11:11 AM ET

Israel pressed ahead with plans to build 3,300 new settlement homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, raising tensions with the U.S. at a time when the allies are at odds over a new Palestinian government.

The government will build 1,500 new homes on land the Palestinians claim for a future state in response to this week’s creation of a Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas, Israeli Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel said. The Gaza Strip-based Islamic movement is classified as a terrorist group by Israel, the U.S. and European Union.

“I welcome this decision to give a proper Zionist response to the establishment of the Palestinian terror government,” Ariel said in an e-mailed statement. The government has issued marketing bids for the new homes, he said, the first step in a process that can take years.

The erection of an additional 1,800 other settlement homes in various stages of approval or construction will be moved ahead at a meeting of a government planning committee next week, an Israeli official said, speaking anonymously because he wasn’t authorized to speak on the record.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro condemned the plans for new homes as detrimental to peace efforts.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-05/israel-plans-new-settlement-homes-amid-rift-with-u-s-on-hamas.html