There have been further clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli security forces after Benjamin Netanyahu’s government advanced plans to build more than 1,000 new settler homes in East Jerusalem.<br /><br />Speaking at the opening of the Knesset’s winter session, the Israeli Prime Minister vigorously defended Israel’s right to build. <br /><br />“The French build in Paris, the English build in London, the Israelis build in Jerusalem,” he said.<br /><br />But Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem is not recognised, meaning most of the world views Israeli enclaves there as illegal settlements.<br /><br />Even within Israel’s government, the timing has caused consternation.<br /><br />“I don’t oppose building in the major <br />settlement blocks in principle, but at this <br />time, when the diplomatic process is <br />stalled and we need to rebuild our <br />relations with the United States, <br />this plan will be opposed by Yesh Atid <br />and we will work to prevent it,” said Israeli Finance Minster Yair Lapid of the centrist Yesh Atid party.<br /><br />Amid rising tensions in East Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah has visited the al-Aqsa mosque in the historic Old City.<br /><br />He used the opportunity to send a message to those listening faraway.<br /><br />“We are asking for international protection for the holy town, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,” Hamdallah told reporters. <br /><br />“We are appealing to the international community and the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to provide immediate international protection. We say to Israel that 48 years of occupation are enough, stop the occupation.”<br /><br />But after the failure of US-brokered peace talks, a summer war in Gaza and fresh bloodshed on both sides, there is little sign of any breakthrough in the Middle East.
