Palestinians say the new Israeli policy of restraint in building on the
land they want for a future state does not go far enough.

But Israeli settlers have been angered by the move,
made under US pressure, by the right-leaning government of Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Under the new Israeli policy, permits for new homes in the West Bank will not be approved for 10 months.

But municipal buildings and about 3,000 homes already under construction will still be allowed to go ahead.

Scuffles have erupted in the past week as Israeli settlers held
protests and tried to block building inspectors from entering their
communities to enforce the new rules.

But, on the basis of the official figures, Peace Now
said “the settler’s claims of discrimination and attempts to ‘dry out’
the settlements have no basis in reality”.

“Even during the freeze a larger number of housing
units than the national average will be built in the occupied
territories,” it said.

Israeli politicians and media have been referring to
the restrictions as a “freeze”, although Palestinians say they are far
from the total building halt, including in East Jerusalem, that they
have demanded.

Settler groups have begun to arrive for a rally outside
Mr Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Wednesday to protest against
the curbs.

The BBC’s Paul Wood in Jerusalem says the settlers feel betrayed by a government they thought was on their side.

Israel could just be acting tactically, trying to make the Palestinians
look like the roadblock to negotiations, our correspondent says.

But even so, he adds, the Israeli government may have
to choose between peace with the Palestinians or peace with the
settlers.