Restrictions of Jewish settlements in Palestine come to an end
World
Restrictions of Jewish settlements in Palestine come to an end
Israel's 10-month settlement construction slowdown has expired, and Jewish settlers were preparing to resume their building, possibly endangering newly resumed peace talks.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to pursue expedited, honest talks to achieve a peace deal within a year, in a statement issued on Monday minutes after the formal expiration of a settlement freeze. Israel is ready to pursue continuous contacts in the coming days to find a way to continue peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the statement said. It added that Netanyahu had been in touch with US, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders in search of a way to avoid a Palestinian walkout from nascent talks over the settlements issue. Palestinians have threatened to quit the peace talks, restarted this month by President Barack Obama, if settlement construction resumes. Ahead of the expiration, dozens of Jewish settlers released balloons and broke ground on a kindergarten as the last hours of a 10-month construction slowdown ticked away Sunday.
