Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly banned the issuing of tenders for Israeli West Bank and east Jerusalem housing projects during US President Barack Obama's visit later this month, the newspaper 'Maariv' reported. The suspension would however not amount to a freeze in settlement construction, and it would only be in place up until the end of Obama's trip to avoid "embarrassing" the US president, the paper claimed, citing Israeli officials.
In March 2010, Israel sparked the ire of the US administration by announcing, during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden, that 1,600 new homes would be built in the east Jerusalem quarter of Ramat Shlomo. "According to instructions provided by the Prime Minister's Office to the appropriate officials in the Ministries of Defense and Housing, no new tenders for housing will be issued for these areas in the coming weeks," 'Maariv' reported.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama could call off his visit to Israel if Prime Minister Netanyahu has not managed to form a new governing coalition by the 16 March deadline, an Israeli television report claimed on Thursday night. Obama is due to arrive in Israel on 20 March for a working visit, his first as president. 16 March is the legal deadline for Netanyahu to successfully complete coalition negotiations, or inform Israel’s state president, Shimon Peres, that he has failed to do so.
Israeli and US officials have made clear that the president was timing the visit so as to ensure Israel would have a new government in place by the time he arrived, the 'Times of Israel' reported.
