"The most [opponents] can hope for ... is that the court will say that the compensation is not high enough," he said.
Also on Monday, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia sharply criticized the US after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reiterated support for Israel's plans to keep large Jewish settlement blocs in the West Bank. "This [US] policy is completely incomprehensible," Qureia told reporters.
Israeli officials have confirmed plans to build 3,650 homes around the Maaleh Adumim settlement near Jerusalem. With the expansion and the construction of a separation barrier, Israel would effectively cut off east Jerusalem, the Palestinians' intended capital, from a future state in the West Bank.
A senior Israeli Defense Ministry official said on Monday that the Maaleh Adumim project, originally conceived in 1999, could take years to begin. Building permits cannot be issued because the status of the land has not been determined, and the ministry expects court challenges that could last for years, the official said on condition of anonymity.
In any case, Israel has already begun construction of a major junction that would allow West Bank Palestinians to access east Jerusalem, the official said.
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