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No deal to freeze East Jerusalem construction, Israeli FM says

Israel Materials 12 May 2010 14:58 (UTC +04:00)
Israel has not agreed to freeze construction in occupied East Jerusalem, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday, contrary to reports that his prime minister has struck a behind-the-scenes deal with the Obama administration.
No deal to freeze East Jerusalem construction, Israeli FM says

Israel has not agreed to freeze construction in occupied East Jerusalem, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday, contrary to reports that his prime minister has struck a behind-the-scenes deal with the Obama administration, DPA reported.

Speaking in Tokyo, where he is on an official visit, Lieberman said that "normal life" would continue in Jerusalem, as in every other city in Israel.

Jerusalem is a united city open to Christians, Jews and Muslim, he said, and would remain so in the future.

According to unconfirmed Israeli media reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to a de facto freeze for construction in East Jerusalem, to allow indirect peace talks with the Palestinians to proceed.

However, the he cannot make this freeze public, for fear of causing a crisis with right-wing and nationalist parties in his coalition.

The prime minister's spokesman has also denied to the German Press Agency dpa that such a behind-the-scene agreement exists.

Lieberman made his comments as Jewish Israelis mark 43 years - according to the Hebrew calender - since Israel captured East Jerusalem and the Old City from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War.

"Jerusalem day," as it is called in Israel, is a minor holiday, marked with special ceremonies.

Arab-Israelis, for their part, do not celebrate the occasion, while the Palestinian Authority wants East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

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