Israel approves more construction in West Bank settlements

JERUSALEM -- Israel has approved construction of 117 houses in the Ariel settlement in the heart of the West Bank, the government said Tuesday, signaling it will not relinquish the sprawling community that Palestinians complain would cut up their future state.\nThe announcement came despite the risk of a U.S. reprimand, just as Israel was reaping the diplomatic benefits of its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.\nIn Gaza, the first clash between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian demonstrators since Israel emptied its settlements there resulted in the death of a Palestinian.\nWitnesses said about 200 young Palestinians marched on an empty settlement, and Palestinian police tried to stop them. An Israeli tank approached, and some youths threw rocks at it while others stormed into the settlement, Neve Dekalim. Soldiers opened fire, killing one and wounding three others, doctors said.\nThe Israeli military said soldiers opened fire after 40 to 50 youths ran into the settlement and others climbed on the tank.\nAlthough Israel has removed its settlers and torn down houses, the Israeli military retains control of the settlement areas until the formal handover, expected about Sept. 15. Synagogues and some military bases are still intact there.\nThe renewed talk about settlement expansion apparently was part of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's attempt to recapture support in his Likud Party after the Gaza pullout. Addressing Likud mayors Monday, Sharon boasted he built more homes in large West Bank settlements than any other Israeli leader.\nThe United States has urged Israel not to expand West Bank settlements, in line with a construction freeze under the internationally backed "road map" peace plan. However, in selling the Gaza pullout to his public, Sharon has said it would allow Israel to strengthen its hold over Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank.\nSince the launch of the road map in 2003, Israel has started building at least 3,500 homes in the five fastest-growing settlements -- Maaleh Adumim, Ariel, Beitar Illit, Kiryat Sefer and Alfei Menashe, said Dror Etkes of the Israeli settlement watchdog group Peace Now. All these are settlements Israel wants to keep under any peace deal.\nFour of the five are relatively close to the so-called Green Line, the old frontier between Israel and the West Bank. However, Ariel, which has nearly 18,000 residents, is deep in the heart of the West Bank.\nIsraeli officials said the 117 houses would be built in the center of Ariel and not expand the settlement's territory. However, the Palestinians said any construction in Ariel is problematic because of its location.\n"If they insist on keeping the settlement, they will destroy the prospect of a contiguous, viable Palestinian state," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.\nAnalysts said the comments by Nachman and Boim, a Sharon ally, appeared to be part of the Likud leadership struggle, in which the expansion of West Bank settlements was emerging as the hottest topic.\nSharon's main challenger, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, launched his campaign last week with a tour of Maaleh Adumim, urging Sharon to build a new neighborhood there despite U.S. objections. Vice Premier Ehud Olmert, a Sharon ally, has since acknowledged the plan won't go ahead without U.S. consent.\nIn his speech to Likud mayors, Sharon said settlement expansion would continue. \n"All the prime ministers built in the settlement blocs, but I built more than any of them," he said.\nThe Sharon-Netanyahu rivalry was heating up ahead of a Sept. 25 meeting of the 3,000-member Likud Central Committee, which is to decide on the date of a party primary. The outcome of that vote could determine whether Sharon leaves Likud or decides to stay for a showdown with Netanyahu.\nNext week, Sharon plans to attend the United Nations' 60th anniversary celebrations in New York City and meet with world leaders, including President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.\nThe United States, along with the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, has repeatedly demanded Israel freeze all settlement expansion.\n"We've been clear with the Israelis on their obligations under the road map ,and President Bush has specifically called on the Israelis not only to remove illegal outposts but to stop settlement expansion," U.S. Embassy spokesman Stewart Tuttle said Tuesday.