Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hawkish coalition partners vowed Thursday to keep building Jewish settlements and demolishing unauthorized Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem – despite indications the Israeli leader has put the brakes on both. The United States opposes both at this delicate time, when indirect talks between Israelis and Palestinians have just begun. The remarks by Netanyahu's partners show the thin tightrope he has to walk in trying to address the conflicting demands of his political allies at home and Israel's strongest ally abroad. On Thursday, Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party reasserted his claim that Israel would never freeze construction in east Jerusalem, the sector of the holy city that Palestinians claim for a future capital. “We will build in every part of Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people's homeland for eternity, and I made this clear to our American friends and colleagues as well,” Yishai, whose ministry approves Jerusalem construction, told a weekly newspaper published by his party. He was also quoted as saying he would convene a municipal planning committee soon to advance new projects. A day earlier, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich said demolitions of unauthorized Palestinian homes would resume within days after having been put on hold so they wouldn't hobble efforts to renew peace talks. “If there was a postponement, it's no longer in effect,” he told parliament. Palestinians claim Israel gives them no choice but to build in east Jerusalem without authorization because Israel gives them very few permits. Netanyahu spokesman Mark Regev and the US Consulate in Jerusalem had no comment. But Defense Minister Ehud Barak called on his fellow Cabinet members in a statement to avoid inflammatory comments about Jerusalem. “These statements hurt Israel's interests with the US and the world in general,” said Barak.
