West Bank settlement lays groundwork for new neighborhood

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"As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to meet U.S. President Barack Obama and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Tuesday in New York, workers in the West Bank settlement of Betar Ilit will continue what they've been doing for the last few weeks: laying the groundwork for new homes.

Despite talk over a construction freeze in West Bank settlement in ultra-Orthodox Betar Ilit, south of Jerusalem, in recent weeks infrastructure work began in advance of what appears to be the creation of a new neighborhood. While the construction site falls within the municipal boundaries of the settlement, it is on a hill outside the current built-up area of the town.

It appears that at least several dozen housing units are to be built on the site.

The site does not appear on the list of 455 housing units that Defense Minister Ehud Barak reported giving approval for two weeks ago, as a last step before the implementation of new understandings on a construction freeze.

The fact that the hill is outside the perimeter of existing buildings runs contrary to the Israeli contention that construction is being performed within the existing built-up areas."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1116087.html

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"Israeli troops shot and killed a Jerusalem resident at the Betar Illit-area military checkpoint west of Bethlehem on Tuesday morning.

The Palestinian, identified as 27-year-old Walid Rabi At-Tawil, allegedly refused to stop his car after being ordered to do so by Israeli forces manning the post.

In a statement, the Israeli military said At-Tawil "ignored calls to undergo the required security checks, accelerated towards the soldiers and drove through the crossing." It said soldiers chased after the vehicle, which they said they found it at a nearby gas station.

Soldiers reportedly told At-Tawil to stop the car, shot in the air, and then at the tires of his car. The shots to the tires allegedly failed to stop the vehicle with which At-Tawil "attempted to run over IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers."

He was then shot and killed, the military said.

The incident occurred near the illegal settlement of Betar Illit that lies about half a kilometer from Israel's border on the western side of the separation wall. Among the largest in the West Bank, it is home to some 35,000 predominantly ultra-Orthodox settlers."

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=227113