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JERUSALEM – Under pressure from the United States, Israel has delayed a bill that would connect a number of West Bank settlements to Jerusalem, officials said Sunday.
The bill aims to solidify the city’s Jewish majority, but stops short of formal annexation, making the practical implications unclear. The bill says the communities would be considered “daughter municipalities” of Jerusalem.
The Palestinians claim both east Jerusalem and the West Bank, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war, as part of their future state, a position that has wide international backing. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognized internationally.
Israel’s Haaretz newspaper quoted Netanyahu as saying Israel needs to coordinate the bill with the U.S.
“The Americans turned to us and inquired what the bill was about. As we have been coordinating with them until now, it is worth (to continue) talking and coordinating with them. We are working to promote and develop the settlement enterprise,” it quoted Netanyahu as saying at a government meeting Sunday.
Earlier…
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