Israel plans 1,400 new settlements

Israel will reveal plans to build 1,400 settler homes in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem to coincide with the weekend release of Palestinian prisoners, military radio said yesterday.
A third batch of Palestinian prisoners is due to be released tomorrow as part of conditions that Israel agreed to when it committed to resume US-brokered peace talks with the Palestinians in July.
Palestinians have warned that new settlements would destroy the fragile peace process.
Military radio said 600 new housing units would be build in the existing settlement in east Jerusalem, a mostly Arab sector annexed by Israel, while the remainder would be constructed in West Bank settlements.
Israel has come in for repeated criticism from the United States and most of the international community for pressing ahead with a drive to build Jewish settlements on land Palestinians want for their future state. Netanyahu last week said nothing would stop his government from pushing ahead with the constructions.