Benjamin Netanyahu will approve the construction of several hundred housing units in the West Bank, snubbing the Obama adminisration's demands for a halt to new settlements. The Israeli prime minister informed the White House of his plans weeks ago, Haaretz reports. The US and Israel are still negotiating the terms of a settlement moratorium, but Netanyahu wants projects already underway excluded from any freeze.
"The Americans do not agree and are not happy about it, but we put it on the table a long time ago," an official close to Netanyahu said. A Palestinian negotiator was furious: "The only thing that will be suspended by this announcement is the peace process." (More Benjamin Netanyahu stories.)