Jerusalem: Israel delayed a vote yesterday on permits for settler homes at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request, ahead of a speech by US Secretary of State John Kerry, an official said.
The discussion was pulled from the agenda in a move following last week's UN Security Council resolution demanding a halt to Israeli settlement building and with Kerry set for a major speech on the conflict later in the day.
Hanan Rubin, a Jerusalem city councillor and a member of the planning committee that was to discuss the permits, told AFP its members had been informed of Netanyahu's request by the committee chairman.
"We were told by the chairman... that it was pulled at the request of the prime minister so we can avoid a conflict with the US government just before Kerry's speech tonight," Rubin said.
Netanyahu's spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rubin said the committee had been planning to vote on permits for 492 units in the Ramat Shlomo and Ramot settlement neighbourhoods of mainly Palestinian east Jerusalem. He said the plans would be brought forward at a later date, though it was unclear when. The Ir Amim NGO, which monitors settlement activity, had earlier said the committee was to discuss permits for 618 housing units in east Jerusalem.
