A planned Israeli-Palestinian summit due to be held in Paris by the end of the month has been rescheduled, the Israeli prime minister's office said on Saturday, a sign of increased strain over stalled peace talks.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to meet before the end of October, although an exact date for the summit had not been set.
"Following joint consultations it has been agreed to set a new date for the preparatory meeting," a statement from Netanyahu’s office said, adding there was no chance of holding it on Oct 21, which was previously thought to be possible.
The talks were intended to prepare for a summit in late November of leaders from European and Mediterranean countries including Middle East players, Sarkozy said when he announced his invitation at the end of September.
It would have been a first face-to-face meeting between Netanyahu and Abbas since the two restarted direct peace talks backed by the United States in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt on Sept 2 — talks that have since reached a standstill.
The Palestinians called off the direct talks when a 10-month Israeli freeze on new home building in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank expired at the end of September.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat on Saturday implicitly confirmed the postponement of the Paris gathering.
"The continuation by Israel of settlement activity ruins all peace efforts, be they those of (U.S.) President Barack Obama or those of President Nicolas Sarkozy," he told AFP.
He added that in any case the Palestinian Authority "has not received an official invitation, giving a date, for such a meeting."
Impasse
Netanyahu, who heads a government dominated by pro-settler parties, has so far resisted U.S. pressure to extend the freeze and said last week the Palestinians should recognize Israel as a Jewish state to secure such a gesture.
Abbas repeated the Palestinians’ longstanding rejection of that idea, which would amount to a major concession on an issue at the core of the six-decade-old conflict by effectively ruling out any return of Palestinian refugees to what is now Israel.
Peace efforts appeared to run into further complications on Thursday when Israel issued building tenders for 238 housing units in East Jerusalem, which infuriated the Palestinians and which the United States said was "contrary" to peace efforts.
The building plan envisages more construction in two densely-populated Jewish "neighborhoods," as Israel refers to them, in East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank that it has annexed as part of its capital, a move that has never won international recognition.
On Saturday, the French foreign ministry said it was "deeply disappointed" with Israel’s plans to resume building homes for settlers in east Jerusalem, and urged Netanyahu’s government to reconsider.
"This decision is inopportune. France is deeply disappointed," ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said in a statement. "France calls on the Israeli authorities to reconsider this decision."
Erekat said in a statement on Friday that by agreeing to publish further building plans, Netanyahu "has made his choice — settlements over peace," and has "demonstrated why there are no negotiations today".
Some 2.5 million Palestinians live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas they want as part of a future state but where nearly 500,000 Jews also live in more than 100 settlements. The World Court deems settlements illegal but Israel disputes this.
Protesting citizenship bill
Meanwhile several thousand Jewish and Arab Israelis protested peacefully Saturday against a bill requiring non-Jewish new citizens to swear allegiance to the country as a Jewish state.
The rally, organized by left-wing opposition parties and human rights organizations, came six days after the mainly right-wing government voted overwhelmingly in favor of the controversial legislation.
The measure has been widely condemned as racist by Israel’s Arab minority but appeared designed to placate hard-line ministers ahead of a decision to extend a settlement moratorium seen as key to US-backed peace efforts with the Palestinians.
Demonstrators marched through central Tel Aviv to the defense ministry, brandishing banners that read "Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies" and "No to hatred", criticizing Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
An original proposal by Lieberman’s ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party would have required even Arabs born in Israel to make the pledge and promise to serve in the military or perform other national service but it was toned down.
The 30-member coalition cabinet endorsed the draft amendment by 22-eight and it has to be approved by parliament before becoming law.