Israel approves 1,100 new homes in east Jerusalem

Israel granted the go-ahead on Tuesday for construction of 1,100 new Jewish housing units in east Jerusalem, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out any freeze in settlement construction, raising already heightened tensions after last week's Palestinian move to seek U.N. membership.

Israel's Interior Ministry said the homes would be built in Gilo, a sprawling Jewish enclave in southeast Jerusalem. It said construction could begin after a mandatory 60-day period for public comment, a process that spokesman Roi Lachmanovich called a formality.

The announcement drew swift condemnation from the Palestinians, who claim east Jerusalem as their future capital. The United States, European Union and United Nations all expressed disappointment with Israel's decision.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the Israeli announcement was counterproductive to efforts to relaunch Mideast peace talks. She said both Israel and the Palestinians should avoid provocative actions, and that international mediators will remain focused on guiding the two sides back to direct negotiations.

Richard Miron, a spokesman for U.N. Mideast envoy Robert Serry, said the announcement "sends the wrong signal at this sensitive time."

The Palestinians have demanded that Israel halt all settlement construction in east Jerusalem and the adjacent West Bank — territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war — as a condition for resuming peace talks.

Since capturing east Jerusalem, Israel has annexed the area and ringed it with about 10 Jewish enclaves that are meant to solidify its control. Gilo, which is close to the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, is among the largest, with about 50,000 residents. Israel's annexation of east Jerusalem has not been internationally recognized.

Meir Margalit, a Jerusalem city council member who is critical of east Jerusalem construction, said city officials had given initial approval to the Gilo project more than a year ago.

Margalit said he didn't expect the project to be "an obstacle of peace" since it is in an existing Jewish area that is widely expected to remain part of Israel in any peace deal. But he said Interior Minister Eli Yishai, leader of the hawkish Shas Party, appeared to have timed the approval as a response to the Palestinian statehood gambit. Yishai declined an interview request.

Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said the Israeli decision amounted to "1,100 no's to the resumption of peace talks."

He urged the United States, Israel's closest and most important ally, to change its position and support the Palestinians in their quest for U.N. membership. The United States has repeatedly called on Israel to cease settlement construction on land that could constitute a Palestinian state, but says the U.N. is not the proper place to resolve the conflict.

With peace talks stalled for the past three years, the Palestinians last week asked the U.N. Security Council to recognize an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip. Although the move won't change the situation on the ground, the Palestinians believe international support will boost their position in future peace negotiations.

The U.S. has vowed to veto the Palestinian request in the Security Council. Both Israel and the U.S. say a Palestinian state can be established only through negotiations.

In an interview published Tuesday, Netanyahu ruled out any settlement freeze, arguing that a 10-month moratorium on new housing construction last year had failed to yield results.

The Palestinians, saying his limited freeze was insufficient, agreed to resume negotiations just weeks before the moratorium ended. Netanyahu then refused a U.S.-backed Palestinian demand to extend it, and the talks quickly collapsed.

"The Palestinians, by coming back to the issue of the settlement freeze, indicate that they don't really want to negotiate," Netanyahu told the Jerusalem Post. "They use it again and again, but I think a lot of people see it as a ruse to avoid direct negotiations."

Netanyahu has called for the resumption of peace talks without preconditions. He has dismissed demands that a Palestinian state be based on Israel's 1967 prewar lines — putting him at odds with the Obama administration.

Seeking to break the deadlock, the international Quartet of Mideast mediators — the U.S., EU, U.N. and Russia — last week called on Israelis and Palestinians to resume negotiations without preconditions. It called for a peace agreement to end the more than 60-year-old conflict by the end of next year and urged both sides "to refrain from provocative actions."

Manmohan Singh visit UN to focus on global challenges

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh comes to the United Nations on Today focused on global challenges such as terrorism, economic slowdown, terrorism and unrest in West Asia and North Africa.

External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, his Principal Secretary TKA Nair, National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai are part of the high-level team accompanying Manmohan Singh.

A meeting with US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the UN meet is not on the cards. But Manmohan Singh is set to hold bilateral meetings with the presidents of Iran, South Sudan and Sri Lanka, and the prime ministers of Japan and Nepal.

Set to address the UN General Assembly Saturday morning, Manmohan Singh will also dilate on the issue of UN reforms as he speaks about the role played by India since being elected as a non-permanent member of the Security Council after a gap of 19 years.

As he said in a statement in New Delhi embarking on the five day UN trip, "Our efforts at promoting international peace and security and bringing to bear a developing country perspective have, I believe, enriched the Council's deliberations and enhanced its effectiveness."

"The UN must be seen as an impartial, credible and effective body. I will stress the need for early reform of this unique organization, particularly an expansion of its Security Council."

He has also called upon all countries to collectively address the multiple global challenges saying, "More than ever before, it is imperative for all countries to act in concert to address these challenges.

"This is the time for UN to resume its global leadership role," he said

"The UN General Assembly is meeting this year at a time when the world is faced with multiple challenges. The global economy is in the midst of an economic slowdown coupled with all its attendant problems, including inflationary pressures," the Prime Minister said.

"West Asia, North Africa and Gulf regions have seen major upheavals and there is uncertainty about the shape of things to come in this crucial part of the world in the period ahead. The Palestine question remains unresolved," he said.

He also said terrorism and non-traditional threats to international security, such as piracy, were threatening states and the international political and social order and called for collective action to address all these issues.

Palestinian UN bid: Obama to meet Israeli PM

US President Barack Obama will urge his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas to drop a bid for UN recognition of statehood later on today.

Mr Obama will also meet Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu amid frantic diplomacy aimed at averting a crisis.

The US president has vowed to veto the bid, backing Israel's view that direct talks offer the only route to peace.

But efforts by US, European, Russian and UN mediators have yet to produce guidelines for the resumption of talks.

The last round of talks broke down a year ago.

Mr Abbas is set to launch the statehood bid on Friday, after his address to the United Nations General Assembly, with a written request to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

But Mr Obama will ask him not to push for a vote in the Security Council, where the US has promised a veto, to give the "quartet" of mediators time to produce a statement that would be the basis for resumed peace negotiations.

"With both the Israelis and the Palestinians, the president will be able to say very directly why we believe action at the United Nations is not the way ... to achieve a (Palestinian) state," deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told.

The quartet aims to give the two sides a year to reach a framework agreement, based on Mr Obama's vision of borders fashioned from Israel's pre-1967 boundary, with agreed land swaps.

The statement would also endorse the idea of "two states for two peoples, Jewish and Palestinian", according to the news agency.

However, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague acknowledged there had as yet been no progress.

And Mr Obama's stance has come under fire from Republican opponents.

Texas Governor Rick Perry said: "The Obama policy of moral equivalency, which gives equal standing to the grievances of Israelis and Palestinians, including the orchestrators of terrorism, is a dangerous insult."

Both Mr Netanyahu and Mr Abbas have said they are prepared to engage in direct talks. But Mr Abbas has so far appeared determined to press ahead with the statehood bid.

If his request is approved by Mr Ban, the Security Council would then examine and vote on it. In order to pass, the request must get the votes of nine out of 15 council members, with no vetoes from the permanent members. The US has said it will use its veto.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said he thought the bid could win the backing of nine council members.

"We hope the United States will revise its position and be on the side of the majority of nations or countries who want to support the Palestinian right to have self determination and independence," Reuters news agency reported him as saying.

However, before leaving for New York, Mr Netanyahu told members of his Likud party the path to peace was "through dialogue and not through unilateral declarations".

Should the Palestinian bid fail, Mr Abbas could ask for a vote of the General Assembly for enhanced observer status, which is enjoyed by others such as the Vatican, in which case no veto would be possible.

While UN recognition would have largely symbolic value, the Palestinians argue that it would strengthen their hands in peace talks with Israel, especially on the final issues that divide them.

These are the precise location of the border, the status of Jerusalem, the right of return of Palestinian refugees, water, and security.