CAIRO, June 22: Angered over an Israeli plan to extend Jerusalem municipal authority over nearby Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Palestinian officials declared it a ``defacto annexation'' and expressed fear that it could mean end of negotiations before it even began.Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has told the United States that they ``will not accept any adjustments to the US initiative and demand its implementation as it is,'' reports said.
Last evening the Israeli cabinet, unfazed by protests by the US, unanimously approved a plan that would extend Jerusalem municipal authority over nearby Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu said this was an important decision aimed at strengthening jerusalem.
``We are not changing the status of any one of these communities or of jerusalem... There is no violation of the Oslo accords,'' he said. He felt that the Palestinians were violating the peace accords by trying to impose authority over Jerusalem.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.