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The crowd massed outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's official residence, upholding signs and banners reading, among others, "Break the freeze" and "No entrance for Bibi's freeze inspectors."
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Thousands of Israeli right wing demonstrators attend a rally protesting against settlement freeze at Paris Square in Jerusalem, Dec. 9, 2009. Israel announced on Nov. 25 a 10-month freeze on construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank to revive peace talks with Palestinians. |
"We are not here to ask for a compromise, the struggle will continue until the freeze is called off," Danny Dayan, head of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization for Jewish settlers, was quoted by local news service Ynet as saying at the event.
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An Israeli rightist shouts as thousands of right wing demonstrators hold a rally protesting against settlement freeze at Paris Square in Jerusalem, Dec. 9, 2009. |
Over recent days, settlers have been taking different actions against the decree, including preventing government enforcement personnel from entering settlements, pelting them with eggs and blocking major roads.
In order to appease the mounting tensions, Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that the policy, intended as a good-will gesture toward the Palestinians, served Israel's broader interests, and pledged that it was a one-time and temporary deal and that construction would resume as soon as the stated period ended.
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An Israeli boy joins the thousands in a rally protesting against settlement freeze at Paris Square in Jerusalem, Dec. 9, 2009 |
In a sign of the government's determination, authorities have so far arrested a number of protestors, including a settlement leader.
The picture is not bright on the diplomatic front, either.
While Israel stresses that the moratorium marks a rare compromise by the Jewish state aimed to revive the stalled peace talks with the Palestinians, the Palestinian side has called it insufficient, as the restraint excludes some 3,000 settlement housing units already approved and construction in Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.
Accusing Israel of not being genuine, the Palestinians have repeatedly said that they would not return to the negotiation table until Israel totally freezes its construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
About 300,000 Jewish settlers are now living in over 100 settlements in the West Bank, in addition to about 180,000 Jews dwelling in the Arab-dominated East Jerusalem. The Palestinians claim both territories as part of their future state.