Sharon to reexamine construction work in W. Bank settlements

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered to temporarily halt tenders for the construction of over 1,000 housing units in the West Bank settlements and to reexamine them, the Ha'aretz daily reported Monday.

The construction plans will be checked to ensure that they comply with the Israeli-American understanding under which settlement construction will be limited to currently built-up areas, a senior government source was quoted as saying.

Sharon's office said that the prime minister discovered the Housing Ministry was moving forward with the tenders despite his order for a reexamination.

Therefore, he ordered a complete freeze until former Housing and Construction Minister Efraim Eitam's replacement by Tzipi Livni, was confirmed and could begin the reexamination.

Efraim Eitam resigned after Sharon's disengagement plan passed on June 6.

Israel Army Radio reported earlier that a plan to create a new neighborhood comprising thousands of housing units north of Jerusalem will soon be completed by housing and construction and defense ministries.

The new neighborhood will create a territorial continuity with the West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim, said the radio.

However, Sharon told US envoy Eliot Abrams last Thursday that Israel had no plan to create territorial continuity between Jerusalem and the West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim.

Source: Xinhua