JERUSALEM // Reaffirming his vow never to divide Jerusalem with the Palestinians, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, pledged yesterday that he would "build still more" in the contested city.
Addressing a special session of the Israeli parliament, the Israeli leader spoke ruefully about the holy city's division between Israel and Jordan before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
"Like many in Jerusalem, many of you cannot remember how Jerusalem was divided," he told parliamentarians who had gathered to commemorate Jerusalem Day. The annual event celebrates Israel's capture of East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and its subsequent annexation, which the international community does not recognise. Control over Jerusalem is a central issue in Israel's conflict with the Palestinians, who also want the city to form the capital of their future state.
"We are building and we will build still more," Mr Netanyahu said. "A real city is being built here."
Despite an exuberant reception during an address last month in front of the US Congress, the Israeli leader's perceived intransigence on Jerusalem and on other issues has put him increasingly at odds with Barack Obama, the US president, who is trying to restart Middle East peace negotiations.
Mr Netanyahu's remarks yesterday, which follow his announcement on Sunday of US$100 million (Dh367m) worth of investment for the city, is certain to further aggravate tensions with Jerusalem's Palestinian residents.
Palestinians have long opposed, often violently, Israel's construction on what has become an extensive series of Jewish settlements across East Jerusalem.
In a sign of heightened tensions, Israeli police bolstered their presence across the city for yesterday's Jerusalem Day ceremony, deploying 3,000 officers and undercover units. Several hundred Jews decided to march through the overwhelmingly Palestinian East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah while waving Israeli flags and singing nationalist chants.
Sheikh Jarrah has become a focal point of demonstrations by both Palestinians and left-leaning Israelis against the forced evictions of Palestinian residents by Jewish settlers.