The Fight over the Settlement Construction Freeze

On Wednesday evening, November 25, 2009, in a hastily arranged press conference, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced a ten-month freeze on all new construction in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). The prime minister clarified that the freeze would not apply to construction that had already begun (where the foundation had already been laid), to the 2900 housing units for which permits had recently been issued, to essential public buildings, or to construction within the city limits of Jerusalem. The dramatic announcement by the prime minister culminated six months of tough, behind the scenes negotiations between the United States and Israel and temporarily suspended the tension between the two countries.