U.S. pressure delayed an Israeli ministerial vote on Sunday on a Bill that Washington fears entails annexation of Jewish settlements near Jerusalem, an Israeli lawmaker said.
The “Greater Jerusalem” legislation would put some settlements in the occupied West Bank, built on land Palestinians seek for a future state and viewed as illegal by most countries, under the jurisdiction of Jerusalem’s municipality.
Likud lawmaker David Bitan, chairman of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition in Parliament, said a vote by the Cabinet committee would be delayed because the U.S. told Israel the Bill’s passage could impede efforts to revive peace talks that collapsed in 2014.
Israel’s claim to all of Jerusalem as its capital has not won recognition.
