Israel reportedly to spend more on Jewish settlements

Reports from Israel say the government has promised major new spending on Jewish settlements in order to secure support for its budget proposals by far-right deputies.

The leader of the Moledet party, Rechavam Zeevi, said they had won concessions from the government, including the building of a new Jewish seminary in the West Bank, and loans to five settlements.

Mr Zeevi -- whose group is not part of the ruling coalition but has two deputies in the Knesset -- said the government had also agreed to licence an Israeli radio station in Gaza and the West Bank.

Freezing settlement building has been one of the main Palestinian conditions for the resumption of peace talks, stalled since early this year.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service