Netanyahu govt steps in to save settler house

2/09/2010 03:20:00 AM

JERUSALEM – The Israeli government has stepped in to try to save a house built illegally by Jewish settlers in a volatile Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem.

The case is complicating already troubled U.S. efforts to renew Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.

The maneuver could ease settler anger over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to slow Jewish settlement construction. But it fueled new frictions with the Palestinians, who claim east Jerusalem as their capital.

Sovereignty over east Jerusalem is one of the most highly charged issues dividing Israelis and Palestinians.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Tuesday that Israel's attempts to entrench its presence in east Jerusalem only further discourages peace efforts.