Sharon shelves plans for 1,300 new homes

Israeli public radio reported Sharon had refused a request by the housing ministry to give the final green light for 1,300 homes in four of the largest settlements after completing preparatory ground work for the construction and obtaining the necessary authorisation from the defense ministry.

The houses would have been built in Maale Adumin, Ariel, Kiryat Arba and Beitar Elite.

While there was no confirmation from Sharon's office, leaders of the settler movement confirmed that a freeze had been imposed.

Josh Hasten, a spokesman for the Yesha Council of Settlers, {aid that the movement was confident that the freeze would be merely temporary and said that there could be no arguments over the need for the new housing.

"This could be a temporary setback," he told AFP. "Our communities are growing and thriving

"We do not think there should be any delays (to accommodate) natural growth. There's always a need as there's always a demand."

According to the Haaretz daily, the freeze is only temporary and is designed to ensure that all building work is within the municipal boundaries of the settlements and does not breach agreements between the Americans and Israelis.

It affects plans revealed in the last week for hundreds of new homes in Maale Adumin, the largest of all the settlements, as well as in Ariel which lies some 20km on the eastern side of the internationally recognised boundary between Israel and the West Bank.

Under the terms of the US-backed roadmap peace plan, Israel is obliged to freeze all settlement activity although Israeli officials have argued that this does not rule out natural growth in existing settlements.

The US State Department told Israel last week that "the roadmap calls for an end to all settlement activities, including natural growth", a point taken up by visiting White House envoy Elliott Abrams in talks with Sharon last Thursday.

The Palestinians have been incensed by the prospect of the construction work.

Negotiations minister Saeb Erakat said Monday that the construction would "destroy the efforts exerted to restore the peace process to its normal track".