by PAUL DE ROOIJ Thursday, Jul. 24, 2008 at 3:40 PM By PAUL de ROOIJ Given the current escalation of Israeli depredations in Gaza and the daily US bombings

Ban Ki-moon says 'deeply concerned' over reports Israel set to authorize construction of housing units in Maskiyot. Built where military base once stood, it would be first new settlement in region for over decade. Palestinian negotiator Erekat calls on US to pressure Jerusalem to reverse decision
Yitzhak Benhorin
times before that settlement construction or expansion is contrary to international law and Israel's commitments under the Road Map and the Annapolis process," the statement said.

By VOA News United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed deep concern about Israeli plans to build a new settlement in the West Bank.

By Isabel Kershner JERUSALEM: An Israeli Defense Ministry committee has approved the construction of 22 new, permanent homes in Maskiot,

UNITED NATIONS, July 24 (Reuters) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday he was "deeply concerned" about a plan by Israel to build a new Jewish

By Tobias Buck in Jerusalem Israel’s defence ministry has given preliminary approval to plans to expand a Jewish settlement located deep inside the occupied

© AP JERUSALEM (AP) - A key planning committee on Thursday approved construction of a new Israeli settlement in the West Bank, the first to be built in a decade, an Israeli official said.
The decision infuriated Palestinians, who say settlement building cripples peace efforts.
y-populated area bordering Jordan. Asked why Israel should make such a politically charged move now, the official said it had been in the pipeline for years.

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel was set to expand a settlement in the occupied Jordan Valley, a senior official said on Thursday, in defiance of Palestinian and international calls to freeze such activity.
"We are currently in the process of constructing 20 housing units in the Jordan Valley settlement of Maskiot," a senior defence ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
atedly urged Israel to freeze all settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, saying it hampers efforts to achieve peace with the Palestinians.

Jerusalem, July 24: A key committee has approved a new Jewish settlement in the West Bank, an Israeli official said on Thursday.
The impending construction of Israel’s first new settlement in a decade infuriated Palestinians, who said settlement building cripples peace efforts.
rlier in 2008 nine Israeli families settled in mobile homes at the site, which Palestinians claim as part of a future state.

Israel has dusted off controversial plans to build the first new Jewish settlement in the West Bank in a decade, at a time when hopes for the renewed peace

By ISABEL KERSHNER JERUSALEM — An Israeli Defense Ministry-linked committee has approved the construction of 22 new homes in a barely populated West Bank

Israel is close to giving final approval for the construction of new homes for Jewish settlers at Maskiot, in the occupied West Bank.
The plan allows for 20 new homes at an abandoned Israeli military base in the Jordan Valley.
Jerusalem.

An Israeli committee has approved the construction of a new settlement in the occupied West Bank, according to an Israeli official.
If implemented, it will be the first new settlement for a decade.
ed by Israel in 1967.

JERUSALEM, July 24 (Reuters) - Israel's Defence Ministry has revived a plan it had shelved under U.S. pressure to build a new Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, government officials said on Thursday.
A ministry committee approved the construction of 20 housing units in Maskiot, an abandoned military base in the Jordan Valley for some of the families removed from settlements in the Gaza Strip during Israel's pullout in 2005, the officials said.
d which it says it will keep in any peace agreement.

JERUSALEM, July 24 (Xinhua) - An Israeli parliamentary committee has greenlighted the construction of 20 new housing units for Jewish settlers in the West Bank, local media reported Thursday.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is slated to endorse the project soon, which will be carried out at a site named Maskiot in the Jordan Valley, following the approval of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said local daily Ha'aretz.
tion, which The Jerusalem Post said would become Israel's first new settlement in a decade, is certain to infuriate the Palestinians and raise the eyebrow of the Americans, as the two sides have repeatedly warned the Jewish state that its settlement expansion would jeopardize the already sluggish peace process.

By News Agencies Israel has given preliminary approval for the construction of a new settlement in the West Bank, Israel Radio reported on Tuesday.

JERUSALEM // It must be the smallest Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories: just half a house. But Palestinian officials and Israeli human rights groups are concerned that it represents the first stage of a plan to eradicate the historical neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, cutting off one of the main routes by which Palestinians reach the Old City and its holy sites.
The home of Mohammed and Fawziya Khurd has been split in two since 1999 when the Israeli courts evicted their grown-up son Raed from a wing of the property. The elderly couple have been trying to regain possession, but were stymied last week when an Israeli high court backed

by Omid Memarian on Huffington Post Susan Sarandon has expressed surprising unwillingness to denounce her support for the Israeli Billionaire, Lev Leviev,