According to a statement issued by his office, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed "regret" to US Vice President Joseph Biden “for the unfortunate timing” of an announcement by the Interior Ministry of plans to build 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo, an outskirt of Jerusalem.
Netanyahu said that "in light of the ongoing disagreement between Israel and the US on building in Jerusalem," there had been no need to advance the planning process this week. The announcement on Tuesday sparked an international furor and enraged the Palestinians, who have called off plans for indirect peace talks with Israel until the decision to build the houses is revoked.
Netanyahu said he had been unaware of the announcement by the Interior Ministry, and his office said he had summoned Interior Minister Eli Yishai of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party to express his "displeasure" at the timing of the announcement. Netanyahu also told Biden that the "final approval process will in all likelihood take more than a year and the beginning of actual construction would likely take several years.”
On Thursday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas informed the Arab League that his administration would only enter into talks with Israel if the plan is shelved.
Meanwhile, a government minister of the Labor Party, which is led by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, also attacked the Interior Ministry’s announcement. Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon said that Vice President Biden’s anger was “justified”, and social services Minister Isaac Herzog leveled criticism at the timing of the announcement: "This is a serious mishap and the prime minister must make sure it does not happen again, especially during such an important visit."
In an address Thursday at Tel Aviv University, Joseph Biden said the bond between Israel and the United States was "impervious to any shifts in either country and in either country's partisan politics,” but added that the decision by Israel to build 1,600 new houses had “undermined the trust required for negotiations" and under instructions from President Obama he had “condemned it immediately and unequivocally."
Biden accepted Netanyahu's explanation that he too was caught unawares by the announcement and praised the Israeli prime minister for offering to set up a mechanism to prevent future such surprises. The US vice president said this would have consequences. "The United States will continue to hold both sides accountable for any statements or any actions that inflame tensions and influence these talks," he said in his speech.
