REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JERUSALEM - Israeli officials say the Palestinian refusal to allow any Jewish settlers to remain in a future Palestinian state shows they don't want peace.

Monday's statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office follows a flurry of condemnations sparked by an Associated Press report Sunday that Netanyahu believes all Jewish settlers should have the right to remain in their homes in a future Palestine.

In an accord, settlers not inside Israel were expected to be removed. But an official told the AP that Netanyahu believes there is no reason a future Palestinian state should be "ethnically cleansed."

The concept was immediately rejected by the Palestinians and the settlers themselves. It set off an angry rebuke from Netanyahu's coalition partners. The statement said the Palestinians' "extreme and reckless" reaction showed their true face.

The Palestinians demand East Jerusalem as their future capital city. West Bank was captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war,. Palestinians had long refused to negotiate with Israel while settlement construction continued.

Since the peace talks resumed last summer, Israel has issued 5,500 tenders for new housing in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, said Yariv Oppenheimer of the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now, recently.

It was a significant increase, compared to the annual average of between 2,000 and 3,000 in previous years. The fate of the territory is a main focus in peace talks and a very sensitive issue for both sides.

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