The construction of Israeli settlements on the West Bank, where about 300 thousand people live, will be frozen for 10 months. The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told this.

The decision will affect only new buildings. The construction of already started objects (and they are about 3 thousand) will be completed. The “Frost” will not affect the construction of urban infrastructure - synagogues, hospitals and kindergartens. Netanyahu hopes, that “the Palestinian Authority should enter into negotiations once again.”

However, in Palestine, the Israeli proposal was received with caution. The representative of Hamas, Sami Abu Zahra called the actions of Israel “comical”. “They want negotiations, that no one is going to conduct” - he explained. And Saeb Erekat - the Minister of the Palestinian Authority on negotiations with Israel said that “Israeli took the similar step in order appease the US.”

Implicit assumption of Erekat was confirmed by several senior Israeli officials. In particular, the Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman said: “The last thing we care about is the opinion of the Palestinians, but the opinion of our friends all over the world is of great importance for us. On his part, the Minister of Defense Ehud Barak, speaking to soldiers stationed in the settlements, urged them not to worry. According to him, Israel is in great need of support of the USA in the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.