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Netanyahu: We Didn't Seek to Embarrass Biden over Jerusalem Construction

(Ha'aretz) Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff - Israel's Interior Ministry announced Tuesday that the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee had approved 1,600 new housing units to ease the ultra-Orthodox community's housing shortage for young couples in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, a community of 20,000 in northern Jerusalem. Interior Ministry officials rejected claims that the plan's authorization was intended to scuttle efforts to renew proximity talks between Israel and the PA, or to otherwise compromise Vice President Biden's visit. The program had been drafted three years ago and the work of district planning committees is not under the direct authority of Israel's political leadership, which tries not to interfere with their work. Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly told Biden, "No one was seeking to embarrass you or undermine your visit - on the contrary, you are a true friend to Israel." A high-ranking Israeli official said Netanyahu has "no problem" with construction in Jerusalem and has no intention of apologizing for building there. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday that the construction announcement does not represent a new development. "This is an ultra-Orthodox city very close to the 'green line,' and these are housing units for people who are struggling and cannot buy elsewhere," he said.
2010-03-10 07:49:14
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