U.S. pressure delays Israel's 'Greater Jerusalem' bill: legislator
Source: Reuters
#WORLD NEWS OCTOBER 29, 2017 / 7:12 AM / UPDATED 7 HOURS AGO
U.S. pressure delays Israel's 'Greater Jerusalem' bill: legislator
Jeffrey Heller
3 MIN READ
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. pressure delayed an Israeli ministerial vote on Sunday on a proposed bill that Washington fears entails annexation of Jewish settlements near Jerusalem, an Israeli lawmaker said.
The Greater Jerusalem legislation would put some settlements in the occupied West Bank, built on land Palestinians seek for a future state and viewed as illegal by most countries, under the jurisdiction of Jerusalems municipality.
The bill, proposed by a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus right-wing Likud party, was to have been submitted for approval on Sunday to a ministerial committee on legislation, a first step before a series of ratification votes in parliament.
But Likud lawmaker David Bitan, chairman of Netanyahus coalition in parliament, said a vote by the cabinet committee would be delayed because Washington told Israel the bills passage could impede U.S. efforts to revive peace talks that collapsed in 2014.
-snip-
Read more:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-settlement/u-s-pressure-delays-israels-greater-jerusalem-bill-legislator-idUSKBN1CY0CB