Over 10,000 West Bank settlers and their backers have demonstrated near the Israeli prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem, pledging to defy a temporary construction ban imposed by the government. Settlers held signs and banners that read “We will continue to build” and “Stop Iran’s nukes, not our homes.”
The recent decision to prohibit new housing starts in the settlements for the next ten months was meant to help the Obama administration’s efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. The pause does not include East Jerusalem and allows for the completion of settler homes where construction has already begun.
“We are not here to ask for a compromise. The struggle will continue until the freeze is called off," Danny Dayan, head of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization for Jewish settlers, said.
The Palestinians have rejected this freeze because it does not include East Jerusalem and 3,000 West Bank housing units that are already under construction.
