Israel okays millions of dollars in aid to settlements

The Israeli cabinet Sunday approved listing some Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank as "national priority zones," entitling the communities to millions of dollars of extra state funding.
The decision is certain to stir furore as it comes just weeks after Israel instituted a 10-month moratorium on new building permits in the settlements after months of US pressure.
The cabinet voted to approve a proposal to include settlements in the list of communities designated as national priority zones, which entitles them to credits worth 41 million dollars (28 million euros), a government official told AFP. The cabinet had been expected to approve the proposal during its morning session, but put off the vote amid disagreements over which communities inside Israel should be included on the list.
Defence Minister and Labour chief Ehud Barak, for example, was insisting that the coastal city of Ashkelon, a bastion of support for his centre-left party, be included, public radio reported.
In its vote, the cabinet also decided to create a commission that will decide within 30 days on whether to include Askhelon and other communities on the list, the official said. The new credits will benefit 110,000 settlers and can be used for vocational training programmes and other educational or cultural activities.
The communities affected on Sunday are mainly outside the large settlement blocs Israel wants to annex under any peace accord with the Palestinians.
Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party told public radio that the move was aimed at expressing support for settlements amid the moratorium. "With this, we want to send a message (to the settlers) that we understand their difficulties and want to support them," Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz of Netanyahu's Likud party told public radio.
The European Union on Friday expressed concern over the plan and said it would consult its partners in the Middle East Quartet over the move. "Co-ordination with the Quartet I think is called for in view of the serious nature of such a move," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, said on Friday.
"If I understand it rightly, it is a rather serious step," he said. "If that is the decision that will be taken by the Israeli government, we will most certainly express our views on it." The issue of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land is one of the thorniest in the stalled Middle East peace talks.