U.S. wants freeze on Jewish east Jerusalem

JERUSALEM, June 23 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's demand for a settlement freeze includes Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, a State Department official said at a briefing.

"We're talking about all settlement activity, yes, in the area across the line," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Tuesday in Washington.

Kelly's responded to a question on where the construction freeze was to be applied, and referred to Jewish neighborhoods in the pre-1967 armistice line.

The Ministry of Housing and Construction insists building in the Jewish neighborhood of Har Homa in east Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim in the West Bank be included in the current state budget for 2009-10, currently being debated in the Knesset, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The paper said the ministry has budgeted more than 200 million Israeli shekels (about $50.6 million) for preparatory work and marketing of 1210 apartments in Har Homa.

Israel has always maintained the right to build anywhere in Jerusalem as according to Israeli law it is not considered the West Bank, the paper said.