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Middle East
Israel rejects US settlement demands, Hamas leader killed in West Bank
Article published on the 2009-05-31 Latest update 2009-05-31 15:14 TU
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday
(Photo: Reuters)
Israel's Transport Minister, Yisrael Katz, said on Sunday that the government would not "accept in any fashion that legal settlement activity be frozen". Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not discuss the question at the weekly cabinet meeting, after the administration of US president Barack Obama said all Israeli activity in the settlements must stop.
Israel's Interior Minister Eli Yishai described the US attitude as "an unjustifiable demand that the government and the public do not accept" and Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog said it was wrong to describe the issue as "black and white or right or wrong".
Over 280,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank on Sunday six people were killed during an arrest operation.
Police attempted to arrest Mohammed al-Samman, a senior Hamas leader in the West Bank, in the town of Qalqiliya but he barricaded himself in a house with another Hamas member.
A shoot-out left both men dead as well as three Palestinian policemen and a civilian. Hamas said it placed "the complete responsibility of this ugly crime on Abbas and his security forces", in reference to the leader of the Palestinian Authority.
Also on Sunday, the Israeli military launched major practice exercises in the morning. The simulations will last five days and aim to test the country's ability to respond to rocket or missile attacks, according to the Ministry of Defence.
It is the third exercise of the kind since the 2006 war with Lebanon.
 Israel rejects US call for settlement freeze |
