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Israel Plans to Rezone Settlements for 533 New Units

(New York Times) Steven Erlanger - Israel plans to rezone land within existing settlements to allow for the construction of another 533 housing units, most of them close to Jerusalem, Israeli officials said yesterday. The announcement comes a week after the government issued tenders for the construction of 1,001 new housing units on the West Bank and was planning to issue tenders for another 633 units, though it has not yet done so. Together with the new units from rezoning, this would amount to 2,167 permits to build apartments beyond Israel's 1967 boundaries. The announcements come after Washington signaled that it would accept settlement growth within the boundaries of existing settlements. The Palestinian Authority and the Arab League say it is a direct violation of Israel's agreement in 2001 to freeze all settlement activity, including "natural growth." They have said that the United States, by turning a blind eye to Israeli settlement activity that breaks its own promises, is destroying the so-called road map to peace. But the road map is tattered, partly because of Palestinian support for the violence of the intifada.
2004-08-24 00:00:00
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