Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe politely expressed his "concern" over the Israeli government's decision this week to allow construction of 884 housing units in a Jerusalem suburb. The French Socialist politician was in Israel for a three-day visit to celebrate Israel's 60th anniversary as a modern state.

Delanoe told reporters at a news conference in Jerusalem, "I spoke to [Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski] in a friendly way about it, respectfully. I did not teach him the lesson, but I expressed my concern." The Socialist mayor unveiled in Jerusalem's Paris Square a 4-meter-high fountain, a birthday gift from the French capital to the Jewish State.