According to the Haaretz article, "The number of housing units put up in the West Bank during the Netanyahu government is the lowest under any prime minister since the first Rabin government." This move toward moderation, however, has not appeased either side of the debate, and the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank is a politically charged issue with local Israeli pressure from the right advocating increased settlements, while many leftist Israelis vehemently protest the renewed construction.
This contemporary issue can be seen as an extension of the problem of Jewish dispersal and homeland rights dating back as far as the first diaspora. It was certainly a series of complicated, multinational proceedings which resulted in the 1948 declaration of the state of Israel and the first Arab-Israeli war that established most of Israel's modern borders. At that time, as now, both "The People of Israel" and Palestinian Arabs had equally compelling claims on the land. Both then and now, there exist persuasive arguments on that topic amongst Jews and Arabs.
The Jewish settlers feel they have a right to the land and see Netanyahu's construction moratorium as a severe injustice. This image (taken from the Boston Globe's website) of "a settler's baby [sitting] in the ruins of a playground at the outpost of Maoz Ester after Israeli policemen demolished it for the 2nd time on June 3, 2009 in Maoz Ester, east of Ramallah" is an illustration of the plight of these Jewish settlers. There are several images from the Globe's story which are worth taking a look at.
On the other side of the debate are the Palestinian National Authority (headed by President Mahmoud Abbas), the United States, and so-called "leftist" elements within Israel who call for a continued moratorium on settlement building (as well as an end to those West Bank settlements that are internationally recognized as illegal) in the interest of promoting peace between Palestinians and Israelis. President Abbas had threatened to walk out of peace talks should the moratorium not be extended, but since the recent announcement that construction would resume, he now says he must consult with the Arab League before deciding how best to proceed.
The United States (via State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley) has announced its disappointment over Israel's allowing of the partial construction moratorium to expire. Although no "direct negotiations" are scheduled, the U.S. Middle East envoy and his team are currently in touch with the Israeli and Palestinian authorities and realize that the situation presents a very real dilemma.
The situation is a complicated one involving many interests. A degree of this complication is illustrated by this Arutz Sheva article outlining French President Nicolas Sarkozy's increased involvement in the international pressure on Israel to slow expansion into the West Bank. The tone of this and other Arutz Sheva articles suggest that the 10 month moratorium was more than enough to appease Abbas (who demanded it in the first place and who, according to the articles, has since been uncooperative regarding peace talks), and furthermore that peace talks cannot proceed if Abbas refuses to recognize the existence of a Jewish state.
The Arutz Sheva articles (written by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu and Hillel Fendel, respectively) appear to have a slightly more "pro-Israel" slant, as they seem to be portraying President Abbas as the main obstacle in the negotiation process. Chaim Levinson and Barak Ravid's article for Haaretz is in my opinion more objective with its presentation.
In light of these recent events, it is obvious that an effective and mutually acceptable solution will be exceedingly difficult to come by. In Netanyahu's words, it will be "an historic peace" between Arabs and Israelis if indeed a compromise-- and with it a measure of peace-- is achieved.
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