Israeli Official: Settlements in Jerusalem "non-negotiable"

An Israeli official said Sunday that building settlements in Jerusalem was an non-negotiable issue, saying that the city was always not subject any resolutions concerning the freeze of settlements construction. Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom said that building in Jerusalem was not up for negotiation under any circumstances, regardless of Israel's acceptance of the Quartet negotiation proposal. Speaking to Israel Radio, Shalom said that last week's announcement of construction in Gilo, and the claims that the construction would damage the chances for the restarting of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, should not surprise anyone. "There has always been opposition to construction in Jerusalem, and we have always said that the city is out of bounds of building freezes," Shalom said. Shalom said that while Israel accepts the idea of restarting negotiations with the PA, it disagrees with the Quartets view that borders and security should be the first issues to be discussed, but all issues needed to be discussed at the same time.