Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israeli government ministers Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a temporary freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank in an effort to restart peace talks with the Palestinians. The Security Cabinet voted 11-2 in favor of the measure which calls for a 10-month freeze on new building permits and the construction of new residential buildings in the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it "a very big step toward peace" and said he hoped the Palestinians would "take full advantage" of the opportunity to restart talks during the 10-month window. "I hope the Palestinians and the Arab world will work with us to forge a new beginning... for our children and for theirs," he said.
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Security Cabinet voted 11-2 in favor of the measure which calls for a 10-month freeze
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Israel under pressure -- particularly from United States -- to halt settlement construction
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Continued construction a key stumbling block in restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks
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Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad said proposed freeze would be inadequate
@placeholder officials, including Fayyad, have called on Israel to freeze construction in Jerusalem as well.