Baku-APA. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday visited the settlement of Barkan in the West Bank, and took part in the inauguration of a school named after his father, historian Benzion Netanyahu, APA reports quoting Xinhua.
The visit comes two days before a planned visit by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to the region to continue his efforts in reviving the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.
Peace talks between the two sides stopped in 2010 over Israel's expansion of settlement construction in the West Bank.
Netanyahu did not make any statement during his visit concerning the resumption of the peace process or his government's policy regarding settlements building, but stated that Israel would "continue to develop its land."
He also said the ceremony marked another step of "making our roots deeper" in the land, the Ha'aretz daily reported.
"Jews must defend themselves by their own strength," Netanyahu said, commenting on an overnight Air Force raid on Gaza following Palestinian rockets fired toward southern Israel. However, he also denounced price tag vandalism.
In recent months, Kerry has been pushing both sides to restart the peace talks in frequent visits to the region.
On Friday, Netanyahu called for fresh negotiations with the Palestinians without any preconditions, saying that Palestinians' refusal to recognize a Jewish state was the core reason of continuing conflict between the two sides.
But contrary to his declarations about the will to strive for a peace deal, construction plans for hundreds of new housing units in the West Bank settlements have been put forward in recent weeks, to the ire of the left-wing, the Palestinians and the international community.
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