Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to alleviate new tensions with the U.S. today (March 10, 2010), after an announcement that Israel will build 1,600 new homes in an ultra-Orthodox East Jerusalem neighborhood drew strong condemnation from the White House, and visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.
Biden arrived in Israel on March 8, 2010 in an attempt to kick-start long-stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which had been expected to resume in the current days, but appeared to be in danger yesterday after a furious response from the Palestinians to the construction plan.
According to the Forward (Jewish) website, a high-ranking official in Jerusalem said Netanyahu has "no problem" with construction in Jerusalem, and has no intention of apologizing to the U.S. for building there.
The Palestinian Authority issued a strong rebuke of the Israeli announcement, with Nabil Abu Rudeineh -- a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas -- warning the move would derail negotiations before they had even begun.
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