-4.5°C Not observed 
JERUSALEM - Defiant West Bank settler leaders rejected on Thursday a personal plea from the prime minister to respect a government-ordered construction freeze in their communities, vowing to keep confronting security forces sent to enforce the edict.
In the West Bank, Jewish settlers blocked inspectors from entering a settlement to search for unauthorized construction, the third straight day of such confrontations. There has been no violence, but authorities have made at least four arrests.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned settler leaders in a bid to defuse the tensions.
Settler leader Dani Dayan called the three-hour meeting in Tel Aviv "difficult" and "emotionally charged." Speaking on Israel Radio, he said the settlers would continue their struggle against the freeze, both through civil disobedience and legal challenges. The settlers have scheduled a mass demonstration next week in Jerusalem.
There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu's office.
Netanyahu announced the 10-month freeze on building new homes last week in an attempt to restart peace talks with the Palestinians.
The Palestinians refuse to resume talks until Israel halts all construction in settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem - territories they claim for a future independent state. They say Netanyahu's freeze order is insufficient because it does not include east Jerusalem or 3,000 homes already under construction in the West Bank.
The Palestinians also believe sitting down with Netanyahu would be fruitless because of the Israeli leader's hardline positions, such as his unwillingness to discuss sharing the city of Jerusalem, said Mohammed Shtayyeh, the Palestinian minister of public works and housing.
"Even if Netanyahu freezes settlements, Netanyahu and his coalition, according to our estimate, have no intention to conclude a peace agreement with us," Shtayyeh said during an interview in his West Bank office.
Thursday's unrest took place in the settlement of Kedumim, where settlers said they blocked inspectors from entering. A day earlier, Israeli police arrested the mayor of another settlement and three other activists for impeding their efforts to enforce the order.
One of the top leaders, Pinhas Wallerstein, said the settlers have no intention of complying with the freeze order. "Whoever thinks we will allow for this to continue is mistaken," he told Army Radio before meeting with Netanyahu.
Some 300,000 settlers live in the West Bank, in addition to 180,000 Jewish Israelis living in east Jerusalem.
The settlers have been struggling to regain their strength since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, uprooting all 8,000 settlers who were living there.
The settlers perceive the construction freeze as a betrayal by Netanyahu, a former key ally. At the same time, they are wary of being portrayed as violent extremists.
All but two settler representatives boycotted a meeting late Wednesday with Defence Minister Ehud Barak, who tried to assuage them by declaring that settlements near the Israel-West Bank boundary are "an integral part of Israel as regards any negotiations with the Palestinians."
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Associated Press Writer Steven Gutkin contributed to this report from Ramallah, West Bank.
