Israel unlikely to prolong moratorium on settlements
17:15 31/08/2010 MOSCOW, August 31 (RIA Novosti) - Israel is unlikely to prolong its 10-month moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank, the Israeli ambassador to Russia said on Tuesday.
The moratorium expires on September 26. The Palestinian authorities have urged Israel to extend it and halt construction plans in East Jerusalem.
West Bank and East Jerusalem have both been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
The news comes shortly after Israel and the Palestinian authorities agreed to resume direct talks for the first time in 20 months. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have been invited to Washington on September 2 for discussions.
"We see no need to prolong this moratorium," Anna Azari said, adding the main goal for Israel is to resume peace talks with Palestine.
Azari also expressed hope that the radical Islamic groups Hezbollah and Hamas would cease attacks during the talks.
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