Netanyahu: settlement expansion no land grab

"Israel's" hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described illegal settlement construction as 'a territorial issue' and not a core problem.

During his Tuesday meeting with his British counterpart Gordon Brown in London, Netanyahu said the illegal settlement activity in the occupied West Bank should be resolved in negotiations with the Palestinians.

While the settlement construction is widely seen a major obstacle to the Middle East peace process, ultra rightist Netanyahu blamed the hindered Palestinian-Israeli talks on Palestine's refusal to recognize "Israel". The settlements are not the cause of the Israeli-Arab conflict, but the result of it, he said.

The "Israeli" premier will to meet with US Mideast envoy George Mitchell early Wednesday in which they are expected to discuss Washington's call for a freeze on "Israel's" settlement construction.

Netanyahu has been resisting international calls for a halt to its settlement activity, arguing the hundreds of thousands of Jews settled down in the West bank now need more educational and housing space.

"This is very different from grabbing land. I made clear that we are not going to expropriate new land."

Netanyahu repeated Israel's claim on  Al-Quds 'as the sovereign capital of "Israel"', calling it 'the united capital of the Jewish people' for the last 3,000 years.

This would further strain peace negotiations with the Palestinians, who view Al Quds (Jerusalem) as the capital city of a homeland they have been struggling for.

Netanyahu criticized the Palestinian Authority for its "anti-Israeli" rhetoric in its Bethlehem conference and additional conditions to negotiations, suggesting the Palestinian side lacked 'fortitude and leadership'.

Hundreds of people rallied in London in a show of protest to the "Israeli" occupation of Palestinian lands. The demonstrators shouted slogans like 'Netanyahu's a war criminal,' waving Palestinian flags, and signs that read: 'Stop the siege on Gaza,' 'Free Palestine,' and 'Stop "Israel" detonators'.