BAITULMUQADDIS: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken by phone to US Secretary of State John Kerry in a bid to calm Washington’s anger over new Israeli settlement plans, an official said Sunday. US President Barack Obama’s administration has accelerated its criticism of Israeli settlement building in the West Bank in recent months, warning it is destroying hopes for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The plan that provoked US anger involves 300 units in the heart of the West Bank, roughly halfway between the Palestinian cities of Ramallah and Nablus. Settlements are a key political issue within Israel, with those in favour advocating that Jews must return to their biblical homeland, including in the West Bank. Education Minister Naftali Bennett said last week that “we must give our lives” to the cause of annexing the West Bank, according to Israeli media, though he later backtracked on his comments.--AFP

Source: New Strait Times October 09, 2016 08:48 UTC