Peres blames Netanyahu for breaching Jerusalem status quo

[oberliner]

President Shimon Peres believes the administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has violated the accepted status quo on building in East Jerusalem by allowing construction for Jews in the heart of Arab neighborhoods in the city.

Peres reportedly told the prime minister that the current diplomatic crisis with the United States could be resolved if Israel affirmed that the agreed-upon status quo will not change, and that there will be no further building for Jews in predominantly Arab areas of the city like Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan.

The president reportedly told Netanyahu and several ministers in his cabinet that every Israeli government until now has agreed not to build in predominantly Arab areas of the city. "Previous governments built in Jewish neighborhoods, but not in Arab ones," he said. "Even Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir did not build in the heart of Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. That's why the entire world agreed to , and it wasn't a stumbling block in negotiations."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1159591.html