Netanyahu stands firm on Jerusalem before U.S. visit

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in his office in Jerusalem March 21, 2010.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had written to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton making clear Israel would not curb Jewish housing construction in disputed areas in and around Jerusalem.

Netanyahu's comments, before the start of a Washington visit on Monday, showed that while a public feud with the White House over Jewish settlements might have eased in recent days, the right-wing leader was not budging from his defiant policy.

"Our policy on Jerusalem is the same policy followed by all Israeli governments for the 42 years, and it has not changed. As far as we are concerned, building in Jerusalem is the same as building in Tel Aviv," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks.

"I believed it would be of great importance for these things not to remain in the context of commentary or speculation. I subsequently wrote a letter, at my own initiative, to the secretary of state so that things would be crystal clear."

Clinton and Netanyahu spoke by telephone on Thursday in an attempt to defuse a dispute over settlement in areas around East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in a 1967 war. The issue has delayed the start of indirect peace talks with the Palestinians.

In what appeared to be a softening of Washington's tone in more than a week of public disagreement with Israel, Clinton said Netanyahu had given a "useful and productive" response to her concerns, but she did not give details.

Israeli media reported that Clinton had demanded Israel shelve a plan -- whose announcement two weeks ago during a visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden embarrassed Washington -- to build 1,600 homes in Ramat Shlomo, a settlement near East Jerusalem.

Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its capital, a claim that is not recognized internationally. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of the state they want to establish in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

APOLOGY

Netanyahu had apologized for the timing of the Ramat Shlomo announcement but told parliament last week there was a national consensus to build in "Jerusalem neighborhoods," Jewish apartment blocs in areas under Israeli control since 1967.

He excluded East Jerusalem and nearby annexed areas of the West Bank from a 10-month moratorium he announced in November on new housing starts in Jewish settlements. Palestinians called that limited freeze insufficient.

At a meeting in Moscow on Friday, the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators -- the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia -- called on Israel to halt all settlement building.

Netanyahu leaves later in the day for Washington, where he is scheduled to address the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC on Monday and meet Congressional leaders.

U.N. Secretary General Ban ki-Moon, who toured the Gaza Strip on Sunday, said Netanyahu would meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington. But there has been no official announcement from Israel or the United States on a meeting.

Speaking at the weekly Israeli cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said he also wrote in his letter to Clinton that while each side was free to set forward its positions at indirect talks, core issues could be resolved only in face-to-face negotiations.

The Palestinians, who rescinded after the Ramat Shlomo announcement their agreement to start "proximity talks" under U.S. mediation, have said issues such as the borders of their future state and the future of Jerusalem must be discussed during the indirect negotiations.

"I believe that Israel's position is very clear. It will be clear during my visit to the U.S. capital, Netanyahu told his cabinet in public remarks at the start of its weekly meeting.

Later in the day, Netanyahu was due to hold talks with U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell, who is trying to get the indirect negotiations under way. Peace talks have not been held since December 2008.

(Editing by Noah Barkin)