JERUSALEM — Calling Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem indisputable, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected U.S. demands to stop plans to build 20 Jewish-owned apartments in the eastern part of the city that Palestinians regard as key to their future state.
The decision to allow new housing on land annexed by Israel after the Six-Day War of 1967 probably will further agitate relations with the Obama administration, which has been pressuring Netanyahu to halt the expansion of settlements in hopes of reviving the Middle East peace process and enticing Arab nations to normalize relations with the Jewish state.
The sensitivity concerning the project, proposed by a Jewish-American millionaire, was highlighted over the weekend when Israeli officials said the country’s ambassador to Washington, Michael B. Oren, was summoned to the State Department. But Netanyahu, referring to news reports about U.S. opposition to the plan, was unwavering, saying that a united Jerusalem was the capital of Israel and that there would be no limits on Jewish construction.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Netanyahu’s comments were a distraction from the peace process and that East Jerusalem, like the West Bank, would one day be freed from occupation to become part of a Palestinian state.
