Israeli suppliers to aid construction in Palestinian city

About 20 Israeli suppliers will help build the first modern Palestinian city in the West Bank but only after promising they will not use products or services from Israeli settlements, the project’s developer said today.

The announcement angered the Jewish settlers, who accused the suppliers of caving in to an international boycott of settlement goods and businesses.

The West Bank city of Rawabi, going up 20 miles north of Jerusalem, is a key part of Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad’s plans to lay the groundwork for a future Palestinian state, regardless of progress in peace talks.