Israel announces 10-month West Bank settlement freeze to revive peace talks with Palestinians

JERUSALEM, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday evening announced a 10-month freeze on construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, saying the move was in an effort to revive the peace talks with the Palestinians.

"I hope that this decision will help launch meaningful negotiations to reach a historic peace agreement that would finally end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians," Netanyahu said at a special press conference in his Jerusalem office.

"We have been told by many of our friends that once Israel takes the first meaningful steps toward peace, the Palestinians and Arab states would respond," he said.

Settlement construction has been a key sticking point in U.S. efforts to restart the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which have been suspended since Israeli army's Operation Cast Lead last winter in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday evening announced a 10-month freeze on construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, saying the move was in an effort to revive the peace talks with the Palestinians.

Israel began building in the West Bank in 1967, following the capture of the territory from Jordan during the Six-Day War. Some 300,000 Israelis currently live in the West Bank, in addition to about 180,000 people living in Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.

The Palestinians have refused to engage in peace talks until Israel freezes settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of a state.

However, Netanyahu said at the press conference that the construction freeze would not be implemented in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem, which is viewed by Israel as a separate issue to be discussed in a final status agreement with the Palestinians.

"We do not put any restrictions on building in our sovereign capital," said the premier.

The freeze in the West Bank settlements applies only to new homes, meaning that housing already underway will continue.