Israeli settlements vs.Tuscan towers

JERUSALEM, June 25 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu says constructing towers like those in a Tuscan village would solve the natural growth needs in West Bank settlements.

A reporter from the Maariv newspaper who accompanied Netanyahu on his European trip, said Thursday Netanyahu revealed his vision to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, citing the Tuscan village of San Geminano as an example.

The report said Berlusconi told Netanyahu the towers in the village are empty, to which Netanyahu retorted, "With us they will be full."

Netanyahu's reasoning for building towers is to accommodate the natural grown of West Bank settlements without having to expand boundaries, the paper said.

The paper said Netanyahu's Tuscan vision has been discussed in several forums in recent weeks and was also raised in meetings with U.S. administration officials.

If Netanyahu's idea is accepted, Israel will stop confiscating additional Palestinian land for the sake of settlement construction and will build high rises instead, the paper said.