JERUSALEM (AP) — The prime minister says he believes Israel will retain parts of the West Bank forever.
Benjamin Netanyahu made the comments on Sunday, shortly after meeting the visiting U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell. Mitchell has been pressing Israel to halt settlement construction in the West Bank.
At a tree-planting ceremony at settlement outside of Jerusalem, Netanyahu told the audience “this place will be an inseparable part of the state of Israel forever.”
The Palestinians claim all of the West Bank for a future independent state and say settlements undermine this goal.
