Israel's PM says freeze a one-time offer

JERUSALEM, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- The 10-month West Bank settlement freeze is a one-time offer to jump start peace talks with the Palestinians, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu told an economic conference Tuesday if the Palestinians fail to accept the offer, Israel will resume construction in the settlements, Maariv said.

The decision made at last week's cabinet meeting was not an easy one, Netanyahu said.

He noted the building of 3,000 housing units, which already had been approved prior to the decision, would be completed and public buildings such as classrooms and synagogues will not be affected by the freeze, the newspaper said.

The final status of Judea and Samaria will be determined at the end of negotiations and not a day earlier, Haaretz quoted Netanyahu as saying.

"The residents in Judea and Samaria are an integral part of our nation," Netanyahu said.

Meanwhile, inspectors dispatched to enforce the West Bank settlement freeze Tuesday were confronted by settlers who refused to permit them entry into the communities, Haaretz said. Touring the West Bank, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the government intends to ensure the building freeze is enforced during the 10-month period, the newspaper said