Netanyahu requested delay of settler homes discussion

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested a discussion planned for Wednesday on permits for hundreds of new settler homes be delayed to avoid further conflict with the United States, a Jerusalem official said. 

Hanan Rubin, a Jerusalem city councillor and a member of the planning committee that was to discuss the permits, told AFP they had been informed of the request by the committee chairman.

The discussion was pulled from Wednesday's agenda in a move following last week's UN Security Council resolution demanding a halt to Israeli settlement building and with US Secretary of State John Kerry set for a major speech on the conflict later in the day.