Netanyahu promises to expand settlements, snubs the US

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that he intends to deepen the roots of Jewish settlers in the West Bank, defying a US appeal for a "time-out" in Jewish settlement expansion.

The Israeli leader promised Jewish teenagers in Efrat that his government would build 300 more homes in their West Bank settlement and others throughout the lands occupied since the 1967 Middle East (six-days) war.

Netanuahu also added "We are building in Juda and Samaria and we are building in Efrat," Al Akhbar daily reported today September 25.

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said that Netanyahu's plans do not conform with the atmosphere she's trying to build for better peace talks.