Russia Urges Israel To Halt East Jerusalem Project
MOSCOW (AFP)--Russia called on Israel Tuesday to put an immediate halt to a
controversial building project in occupied Arab east Jerusalem, saying the plan
violated a Middle East peace plan.
"The settlement should be stopped immediately in line with the roadmap,"
foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said, referring to an international
peace plan endorsed by the Israelis and Palestinians in 2003.
The project to build 20 apartments is on a site in the neighbourhood of Sheikh
Jarrah, which formerly housed the Shepherd Hotel, and in 1985 was bought by
American millionaire Irving Moskowitz. It received a building permit from city
hall three months ago.
The plan has also been criticised by the U.S., and Israel's ambassador in
Washington, Michael Oren, was summoned to the State Department earlier this
month when he was told the project should be halted.
France also summoned the Israeli ambassador in Paris to demand a halt to the
Jewish settlement building in east Jerusalem, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner
said Tuesday.
Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its "eternal, undivided" capital and
doesn't consider construction in east Jerusalem to be settlement activity.
The Palestinians want to make the east of the city - home to some 200,000
Jewish Israelis and 268,000 Palestinians--the capital of their future state.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
07-21-091019ET
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