Israel rejects UN call to end its settlements

Israel's parliament, the Knesset, Thursday rejected the United Nations demand for an end to Jewish settlements on occupied Arab land. Prime Minister Menachem Begin said Israelis had an inalienable right to continue building them. He bitterly criticized last Saturday's Security Council resolution that called for the scrapping of Jewish settlements on all Arab land, including East Jerusalem. "This is a barbaric demand," Mr. Begin told the Knesset.