<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Israel mulls rail link to West Bank&nbsp;settlement]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<table width="100%" align="center">
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<td><span class="PublishedDate">[ 					27/11/2010 &#8211; 07:53 AM ] </span></td>
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<p style="font-size:10pt;">OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)&#8211; Israel is  considering building a rail link to the sprawling Jewish settlement of  Ariel, which lies deep inside the occupied West Bank, a transport  ministry spokesman told AFP on Friday.</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt;">The spokesman stressed that it was only  one of a number of projects under consideration but the right-wing  Maariv daily said three million shekels (82D,2D0 dollars) had been  allocated for a feasibility study.</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt;">The proposed rail line would link the town  of Rosh Ha Ayin, east of Tel Aviv, with Ariel and also serve Barkan,  another settlement.</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt;">The idea was first mooted a few months ago  by Transport Minister Israel Katz of the right-wing Likud party of  hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt;">&#8220;No operational decision has been taken at  this stage,&#8221; the ministry spokesman told AFP. &#8220;It&#8217;s just one among a  number of proposals.&#8221;</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt;">Although Ariel lies 17 kilometers from the  1967 border between Israel and the West Bank, and cuts a deep  indentation into the territory, successive Israeli prime ministers have  insisted on keeping the settlement in any peace deal with the  Palestinians.</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt;">With a population of 18,2D0 and a higher education college, it is one of the largest Jewish settlements in the West Bank.</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt;">Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now  reported earlier this month that a private developer was poised to begin  work on 82D new homes in Ariel, despite US pressure for a freeze on new  settlement construction to rescue moribund peace talks with the  Palestinians.</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt;">The Palestinians see the settlements as a  major threat to the establishment of a viable state, and they view the  freezing of settlement activity as a crucial test of Israel&#8217;s  intentions.</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt;">Peace Now spokeswoman Hagit Ofran said the  proposed new neighborhood in Ariel would encircle the Palestinian town  of Salfit just to the south, and described it as a &#8220;grave provocation.&#8221;</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt;">&#8220;There is no demand for housing now in Ariel,&#8221; she said.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7lMLnnmJH23G8DD0oxnuVYbbBkYFZaLJ6ToKxH1TuzIKPsYEPDmreixe2swgm48RUufrOTOZGTBmOGlSfQT0YC%2b7tIkKVeeirIUtxlmibIk8%3d">Israel mulls rail link to West Bank settlement</a>.</p>
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