Hugh Mcafferty, area manager for Construction Skills apprenticeship, added that the government had to start building social housing for rent soon.

BBC: Concern over Scots building jobs

Also Thursday, the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to withdraw from 10 percent of the West Bank, a much larger area than expected, if Arafat's self-rule government quietly accepted construction of the Jewish housing development.

CNN: Arafat: Housing plan violates peace process