Israel stops plan for contentious east Jerusalem settlement

JERUSALEM (AP) — Jerusalem municipal officials have frozen plans to build a large Jewish settlement at an abandoned airport in east Jerusalem. Monday’s decision comes in the wake of heavy U.S. opposition to the project. The plan calls for building 9,000 housing units for ultra-Orthodox Jews. It is considered especially controversial because it is in an area surrounded by three densely populated Palestinian communities. City officials say the project requires an environmental study — a process that is expected to take a year. The anti-settlement group Peace Now welcomed the decision. And Israel’s foreign minister sayys Israel will not allow the issue to create a crisis with the U.S.