" ..... earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel had no intention of stopping the Gilo construction. He called the neighborhood "an integral part of Israel, an integral part of Jerusalem.".....
Speaking in parliament Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not address the tensions with the U.S. and ignored an Arab lawmaker who asked why he was allowing the new construction in Gilo. Instead, Netanyahu reiterated his call for an immediate resumption of peace talks and criticized the Palestinians for refusing to return to the table.
"I hope the Palestinians answer our calls for negotiations," he said. "The Palestinians have groomed themselves with unrealistic expectations."....
Underscoring Israel's claim to the city, a member of the Israeli parliament and American Jewish visitors held a groundbreaking ceremony for another construction project in east Jerusalem on Wednesday. The lawmaker, from Netanyahu's Likud Party, accused Obama of making a "racist demand" by ordering Israel to halt settlement activity. "President Obama should not interfere with the rights of the Jewish people to live in Jerusalem," said lawmaker Danny Danon. "This ... is a racist demand, saying that Jews cannot live in Jerusalem, only Arabs."
Israeli settlers seize Arab houses in East Jerusalem
At the ceremony, New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind said Obama's call to stop Jewish settlement amounted to "segregation."
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