By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel news, Ehud Barak
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Thursday that Israel's announced 10-month partial moratorium on construction in West Bank settlements was only a tactical move and a temporary one.
"It is clear to everyone that in 10 months, we will be building again full force; anyone who understands anything knows this," he told a meeting in the West Bank settlement town of Ariel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the partial moratorium on November 10, in reply to demands by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Israel halt all settlement activity before suspended peace talks can resume.
But Abbas rejected Netanyahu's announcement, which did not include public buildings or those where construction has already begun, and which also excluded Israeli construction in East Jerusalem.
Lieberman said Thursday night that Israel would make no more overtures to the Palestinian Authority.
"There will be no more overtures, and we will not make another gesture or quarter gesture. Enough with the theatrics and the mediators," he said. "We are prepared for direct negotiations without any conditions or gestures. The ball is in the Palestinians' court."
As Israeli authorities continued to clash with right-wing settlers earlier Thursday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak reiterated his commitment to enforcing the government's decision to freeze construction in West Bank settlements.
Last month, the cabinet announced the decision to halt settlement construction for ten months, in efforts to jumpstart peace talks with the Palestinians, who have demanded a complete freeze of construction before talks could resume.
"This is a government decision, and we will enforce it without blinking and without stuttering," Barak said Thursday during a Labor Party meeting in Tel Aviv.
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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1135852.html
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