Government spokesman Mark Regev has denied charges, by visiting American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, that Israel's building in eastern Jerusalem is undermining negotiations with the Palestinian Authority (PA). Everyone knows that the areas in question "will remain a part of Israel under any agreement that might be reached with the PA," Regev stated.
Secretary Rice spoke with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni this morning and now is on her to way to Ramallah to talk with Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas. She told reporters en route to Israel Saturday that the construction of additional housing units "has the potential to harm the negotiations."
Secretary Rice earlier this year expressed a sharp change in American policy when for the first time she referred to eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods as "settlements," equating them politically with all Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.